A Golden Gray Mourning
by Istoria
Summary: A disappearance in a nearby village leads to a greater mystery as Team 7 is forced to examine the consequences of the violence inherent in the their world.
1. Discovery

Chapter 1 

It was not the type of night to be walking home alone. Somewhere, despite the raging anger that clouded her judgment, Fumiko's mind realized this. But after the fight she had with her best friend, she didn't care. She had to get away, even if it was into the pitch cold darkness of the night.

A breeze played across her blond hair and she felt the back of her neck tingle as it did. She pulled the meager jacket around her and tried to quicken her pace but ran into something solid. Fumiko fell back a few steps, muttering under her breath. She looked up to see what she ran into and her gray eyes went wide with surprise.

There was a scream but Fumiko realized it was only in her mind. She didn't even have a chance to react before the darkness of the night seeped into her very being and robbed her of everything.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto has exactly five seconds to live. And with those five seconds, he decided to make sure his death was extraordinarily painful.

"Ne, Sakura-chan… what do you think squirrel ramen would taste like?"

Sakura's last shred of patience faded away and with an internal battle cry she launched herself at him, giving him a solid pummeling to he ground.

"No more stupid questions!" she cried, standing up and brushing her hands on her dress. "I've told you all I know about Hidden Rock village and you're just going to have to wait until we go there for the exam."

The muffled answer she got was something that sounded like an affirmative, so Sakura walked away and retook her spot on the bridge. Tossing a glance to her right, she saw that their third teammate was once again not amused by their antics. With a trademark frown, he quickly turned away, annoyance dotting his brow.

It wasn't like she had meant to break his concentration. But from the moment Naruto had learned that the next chuunin exam would be in the Hidden Rock village, he had been asking any question he could think of, mostly around the subject of food. In the end, Sakura didn't know who was sadder, Naruto for asking the questions or her for actually knowing the answers.

She leaned backwards on the bridge and stared at the water flowing below her hair. She probably knew the answer to that question. It was her, the saddest member of Team 7, always five steps behind her teammates. Still, she was very sure that before the first chuunin exam it was more like twenty steps. She had improved and by the time the next exam arrived, Sakura was sure she would be ready.

A second later, she was hanging upside down, a mere millimeter above the water. Quickly looking up, she recognized the gloved hand holding her ankle and let out a sigh.

"Not paying attention again, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura eyed her sensei unhappily. "You're late," she muttered.

"I was helping an old lady carry her groceries…"

"LIAR!" Sakura yelled, hearing Naruto echo her sentiments from his spot on the floor.

Kakashi sighed and lifted Sakura up a bit before letting go of her foot, sending the young genin towards the water. There was a puff of smoke and Sakura reappeared on the bridge, her hair dripping slightly the front. Inner Sakura was raging but outside she remained calm.

"We have a mission," Kakashi said smoothly. 

Naruto and Sakura groaned. "Weeding?" Naruto asked.

"Cleaning?" Sakura ventured.

Kakashi shook his head. "There's a young girl, about your age, missing from a village nearby. It's been about four days and the town decided to pay for some extra help. We'll leave in about two hours. Pack for a day's travel."

He disappeared just as he had arrived, but this time the atmosphere surrounding the team was much more somber.

* * *

"It's just for a day so I might make it back for dinner," Sakura told her mother. The older woman moved around the kitchen and collected some items.

"It's fine if your not," she said. "Your father is away so I wouldn't have cooked anyway." 

"Another mission?" Sakura asked. "But he's barely been home!"

"Thus is the life of a ninja," her mother replied, somewhat theatrically. "It's something you'll have to get used to. What mission do you have today?"

"We're looking for…" Sakura stopped herself. The girl they were looking for was only thirteen, the same age as she was. She really didn't want her mother to worry about her, especially with her father who knows where.

"A lost cat," Sakura finished.

Sakura's mother quickly put the food into a cloth bag and tied it closed with a bow. "Good luck and be careful," she said, waving as her daughter scampered out the door.

Sakura walked away from her house, swinging the bag lunch back and forth. The row of houses continued well into the distance and was surrounded by a stone wall. She looked around and when she was sure she was alone, Sakura jumped up and landed on the fence, walking carefully on the top.

Five minutes away from the bridge, Sakura sensed someone's presence. She was about to jump down when the young blonde emerged from the corner. Ino looked at her and rolled her eyes.

"Really, Sakura… I thought you outgrew that in the academy."

Sakura frowned and jumped down. "Its practice," she lied. "Balance training."

Ino looked at her with a smirk. "Sure it is."

"Whatever," Sakura replied, waving her off. "I need to go for my mission anyway."

"I know," Ino replied. "I heard you guys would be gone for the day so I brought Sasuke-kun some lunch."

Sakura balked for a moment. _She did WHAT?!?! _Inner Sakura screamed. _But… but… I didn't bring him lunch! And if Ino gets there before I do…_

Sakura shifted her weight as she prepared to bolt. "Really, that's so nice of…"

She took off running. But her longtime rival had been ready for the sneaky tactics and was already catching up. The two barreled down the streets of Konoha, kicking up dust in the wake.

On the bridge, Sasuke suddenly sneezed and let out a sigh. He braced himself against the railing just as the two girl came to a screeching halt in front of him, breathing so hard he could barely make out their words. The only thing he could understand was that the packages being held out in front of them were for him.

"Che," he said, turning on his heel and walking away. Naruto watched with a frown as Sasuke ignored the two girls, who currently were leaning on the railing just trying to get their heart rates down.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, why did you try to give Sasuke your lunch?" Naruto asked, looking at the single pink bag Sakura was holding.

Sakura shot him a look to tell him to shut up but it was too late. "He's right Sakura," Ino sang. "Did you forget about Sasuke-kun today?"

Sakura looked at the bag in her hand and frowned. "It's not… it's just… my mom made lunch today and…with talking about missions and…"

_And I didn't remember to bring something for Sasuke-kun_, she realized internally. Ino was waiting for an answer but before she could start making an even bigger deal about it, Kakashi suddenly arrived with his trademark puff of smoke.

"Good morning, Ino-chan," he smiled as the younger girl. "A lunch? For me? Thank you!"

He plucked the bag out of Ino's hand before she could react. "Let's start walking," he finished turning to his team. They nodded and quickly disappeared into the trees.

Ino blinked as her mind processed what happened. "HEY!" she suddenly screamed out. But by then, they were out of earshot.

* * *

Moving through the trees saved the team time but sapped up more energy. By the time they reached the village, Sakura was starving and in desperate need of a rest. Not that she would let the others know. Naruto and Sasuke both looked fine and she was pretty sure that in a few seconds, Naruto would be whining about why they had stopped.

"Wait here," Kakashi ordered, "while I go talk to the village council."

The genins nodded and took a place on the ground. Sakura pulled her lunch out of her pack and opened it up. The three bento trays came apart easily and Sakura was surprised to find that they were filled with the same food.

She smiled a bit, realizing her mother had packed the lunches for her teammates as well. Originally, she had been a bit disturbed by Sakura's teammates, for reasons Sakura herself did not understand. But ever since the incident with Gaara and the Chuunin exams, she had been a bit more open to them. Well, open enough to add two extra scoops of rice and some meat.

Naruto was already hovering around her so Sakura shoved a serving of food at him. She smiled as she walked over to Sasuke. _Ha, Ino, take that!_

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, holding out the food. "There is enough for everyone."

He eyed the food before nodding and taking it. Sakura let out a little giggle and took a seat next to him, happily munching away on her own food. A moment later, Naruto sat on her other side, with a goofy grin on her face. 

"Do you mind?" Sakura asked, her eyebrow starting to twitch. She shifted away from Naruto, which happily pushed her slightly into Sasuke.

"What?" Naruto asked, his mouth full of food. 

Sakura cringed at the spectacle and stood up, deciding to sit on the other side of Sasuke. "Really Naruto, try not talking with you mouth full of…"

Sakura hit something solid and spun around quickly. A middle aged woman was staring at her, her eyes red and surrounded by black circles.

"I'm so sorry," Sakura began, bowing in apology for having run into her. But the woman didn't appear to notice. She reached forward and grabbed Sakura by the arms.

"They hired you right?" the woman began. "You'll find her… you'll find my Fumi-chan. Won't you?"

Sakura blinked as her mind put together things. This had to be the missing girl's mother. "We'll do our best," Sakura replied as reassuringly as possible.

"She's just a child," the woman cried, gripping Sakura tighter. "She just went out for a walk. She was upset, she fought with her friend. She's here, they just can't find her." The woman was crying as she dug into Sakura's arms. 

Slowly, Sakura tried to twist herself away but the woman's grip wasn't easing up. She didn't want to hurt the other woman but at the same time, it was getting a little scary. She heard shuffling on the ground behind her and knew that Naruto and Sasuke were reacting to her fear.

"Hey," Naruto said, coming up to Sakura's side, "let her…"

"No!" the woman cried. "I won't let her go! She's safe here, she's safe with me and…"

"Yamada-san!"

Sakura turned her head and watched as two older men walked towards the distraught woman. Kakashi was there, eyeing the situation warily. As soon as they had pried Yamada off Sakura, he took her arm and pulled her away.

"I am sorry, Hatake-san. Please, conduct your jobs as needed. We will keep Yamada-san safe. Thank you."

They pulled the woman away but her cries still echoed through the town. Sakura shifted behind Kakashi, suddenly glad that he was so much taller then her. As soon as the noises were gone, he turned around and put a hand on her head.

"Let's split up and search the area," he said. "Keep in touch with radios." Sasuke and Naruto nodded and took off but before Sakura had the chance to move, Kakashi caught her arm again.

"You're all right?"

Sakura looked at him and shrugged. "Just a bit weirded out. But… now I want to find the woman's daughter even more."

Kakashi looked at her silently for a moment before letting her go.

* * *

Sakura walked through the south end of the town, checking out anything that might look suspicious. After three hours of searching all she had found were several birds, a ton of dust and no signs of the missing girl.

The town looked fairly well maintained and safe, which was probably why the girl's disappearance had hit them hard. It felt so different from Konoha, as if nothing bad could happen here. Only it had and Sakura was determined to help restore the town to its previous state.

She came to a stop in front of an older house, eyeing the slightly ajar sliding door. Carefully she walked up the path and examined the garden. The weeds had overtaken it and the grass was turning brown.

"Kakashi-sensei," she said through her headset, "I think I found an abandoned house. I'm going to go check it out."

"Call back in two minutes then," he replied.

"Sakura-chan, be careful," Naruto's voice chirped in.

Sakura sighed and ignored his warning, walking up the stairs. The wood creaked under her feet and the paper screens in the door fluttered broken in a non-existent wind. Sakura frowned and pulled out a kunai, wondering if maybe she shouldn't call the others for back up.

_No way! This is just an empty house. If you freak out now you'll never here that end of it._

Sakura nodded with determination and pushed the door open enough so she could slip inside. A draft of cold air hit her and she ducked in surprise, expecting something to fly over her head. But after a few seconds of silence, she realized nothing was coming.

Still it was strange that the house seemed so much cooler in here then it was outside. Walking across the rotting floor, she called out a few times to see if anyone would answer her.

It hit her then where the cold was coming from. It wasn't from the house but below it. Kneeling down, she rapped her knuckles on the floor and listened as it echoed beneath her. Hollow. Hollow and cold.

Sakura frowned and turned on her radio again. "Kakashi-sensei, there's something strange about this house."

"Where are you?" he asked.

"On the south edge of town," she started walking towards the mirror. "Right next to an ice cream sta…"

She barely had time to react as the sound of snapping wood filled the house. The floor beneath her disappeared and her hands weren't fast enough to make the hand signs she needed to escape the free fall into darkness.

Three second later, she was on hard ground again, her leg throbbing in pain and several voices screaming in her ear. Slowly, she put her hand on the leg, watching with disdain as it came back red with blood. Looking up, she saw the hole in the floor was several feet above her. The jagged edges had scrapped her leg on the way down, deeply enough that she was guessing it would require stitches.

She gripped her arms realizing how cold it was. Her breath was appearing in front of her face in tiny white clouds. She reached down and quickly turned her radio on to answer the frantic calls.

"I'm all right," she said slowly. "Sort of anyway. The floor was rotted and I didn't realize how badly until…"

Sakura trailed off. The dust was settling and sunlight was filtering from upstairs, illuminating the underground storage area. The source of cold was immediately apparent as a machine hummed in the background, pumping out plumes of cold smoke.

"Sakura?" Kakashi demanded on the other end.

Sakura stood up, her head well below the ceiling. Walking cautiously with a limp towards the other end of the room, she noticed that her breath was coming faster now.

"Sakura, are you still there?" Kakashi asked.

"Shit, where the hell is that house?" Naruto yelled through the radio

"I'm there, look to your right," Sasuke replied, calmly. 

Sakura heard footsteps above her but didn't react to their calls. She was no longer mystified by the cold machine but instead in the white sheet that lay next to it. It was obviously covering it something and her mind had already made the connection, screaming at her to back away.

With one quick movement, she pulled the sheet away. 

She paused for a moment and quickly turned on her headset. "Kakashi-sensei… can you come down here, please."

"Hang on Sakura-chan," Naruto broke in, "I'll help you…"

"NO!" Sakura yelled. "No, just stay up there."

"Stay here Naruto." Kakashi said, his voice filtering in from upstairs, not through the headset. There was a thump behind her and Sakura waited until Kakashi was next to her.

She heard him curse but it was barely audible above the noise of the machine. A machine which obviously had been placed her to preserve things as long as possible. It would explain why the villagers hadn't thought to look here. No visible signs, no smells.

Until now that is. There lying on the ground was Yamada Fumiko, her long blonde hair carefully arranged in a circle around her head. Her gray eyes were open and there was a slight smile on her face. She was dressed in a white robe, her hands carefully placed on stomach just below the gaping hole where her heart used to be.


	2. Pattern

**Chapter 2**

_"Sakura…"_

_She turned slowly and watched as the ghostly figure reached out a hand. Blond hair snaked through the misty air trying to grab her as well._

_"Sakura…" the voice whispered again._

_Sakura tried to get close but she still couldn't make out the details. There was blond hair, a white dress and glassy eyes. She heard a voice but there was no mouth on the person in front of her._

_"Sakura…" It was pleading now. Sakura reached forward, trying to reach the hand. Suddenly it snapped forward and wrapped itself around her wrist._

_"Help me," the ghost cried. Sakura struggled trying to get free. "Help me," it said again. And suddenly, the details of the face became clearer. "Help me, Sakura," the ghostly image of Ino cried._

* * *

Sakura woke up with such a violent start that she fell out of her bed and landed on the floor. 

"Owwww…" she cried softly as she tried to push herself out of the awkward position. The door to her room entered and someone suddenly picked her up.

"That's not very smart, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blinked. "Oto-san," she said before breaking out into a smile. "You're home!"

"Aa," he replied pulling the blankets up to her neck. "Now sleep for a bit longer."

"But…"

"Your mother and I are just downstairs if you need anything."

Sakura paused and nodded, letting him fluff her pillow before disappearing out the door. She let out a deep breath and lifted the blanket up, looking at her bandaged leg. With a frown she tried to wiggle her toes and found that most of stiffness and pain was already fading.

She let the blanket drop with a puzzled look. Well obviously the injury wasn't that bad so why were both of her parents home and babying her? She could hear their voices downstairs so slowly she crept out of her bed and cracked open the door.

"…just for two more days!"

"No," her father's voice said. "You know that's not a good idea."

"But I just want her to know that she'll be okay," her mother said.

"Sakura-chan is smart. And she is completely different from that young girl. I don't think this affects her as much as you would like."

"As much as I would like?" her mother demanded.

There was a paused before her father started speaking again. "I say that only because I know how you feel. But we can't keep her safe by locking her in the house. We made a decision to let her go the minute we enrolled her in the academy."

Sakura frowned and walked back to the bed, burying herself under the covers. Her father was right. She did realize that she wasn't the same as the victim except maybe for age. And it wasn't as if she hadn't seen dead bodies before. Were her parents worried that she wasn't strong enough to protect herself? It was hard enough to have her teammates think she weak but now even her parents? She closed her eyes and tried to push the thought of her mind but it stuck even as she drifted to sleep again.

Several seconds later (or at least that's how long it felt), the door opened and soft footsteps moved across the floor. The bed dipped a bit as someone placed a hand on her arm.

"Sakura-chan?"

The blankets were pulled down and Sakura squinted in the light. Her mother was looking at her curiously. "Are you feeling okay?"

Sakura sat up and nodded. "Just sleepy."

"I can't imagine why," her mother smiled, not attempting to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "Possibly though, it could be related to the fact that it is almost 2 in the afternoon."

Sakura shot up and grabbed her clock. "AH! I'm late for practice!"

"No practice today. Just you, me and your father."

Sakura paused and eyed her mother. "Doing what?"

Her mother shrugged. "I don't know. Shopping?"

"Dad would hate that."

"Right… how about a picnic?"

"It's a bit late…"

Her mother took in a deep breath. "I have an idea. So get ready quickly and we'll go."

"Okay…" Sakura agreed still a bit perplexed over why her mother was so insistent they do something together. "I'll be down in a second."

"Dress warmly! It's gotten cold outside."

Sakura moved around mechanically, pulling a pink sweater over head and grabbing some gloves. She trotted down the stairs, finding both her parents waiting for her. Her chest constricted suddenly as if she was waiting for them to tell her something horrible. It was like she was seven again and they found all the cookies had been eaten.

But instead her mother smiled and reached forward. "All right, let's go!" she said cheerfully, grabbing Sakura's hand and pulling her out the door.

* * *

The Haruno family walking through the streets of Konoha was a rather amusing sight. A tall pinked hair woman was gaily strolling, swinging the hand of her daughter back and forth as she talked animatedly with the man to her left. 

Sakura smiled a bit, watching as her father wrapped his hands behind his head, trying to answer the barrage of questions her mother was throwing at him. It had been a while since the three of them were together. When she was still in the academy, there had been more time to have family outings but now… it was so hard to coordinate their schedules.

"Here we are!"

Sakura came to a stop and looked at the tall building, letting her smile deepen. Of course! It wouldn't be a Haruno family outing without a trip to the Konoha Central Library. As soon as they entered, her mother quickly disappeared towards the Ikebana section while her father muttered something about doing research for work despite the fact that he was headed towards the sports area.

Sakura took in a deep breath and let the familiar smells of the library fill her senses. How many hours had she spent her when she was younger, ingesting scrolls and books in a constant pursuit of answers? Sure, that meant she was one of the smartest kids in her class but it didn't make her the best ninja. She probably should have spent some time training herself physically.

Letting out a sigh, Sakura began to walk into the aisles, wondering if maybe she shouldn't pick up a few training manuals to get ideas for practice. She made it about three steps before a scroll on a nearby table caught her eye.

Walking over, she scanned the headline surprised to find that Konoha news service had picked up the story of the dead girl they had found. Sitting down, Sakura picked up the scroll and began to read through the contents.

There was the usual story of how the girl had been missing, some bits about her life before and things like that. But what really caught Sakura's eye was a statement buried at the end of the article.

_"What worries town officials the most is that this may be a copy cat killer, mimicking the murder that happened five years ago. The killer in that case was caught, tried for organ trafficking and execute a year ago."_

Sakura reread the passage a couple of times before putting the paper down. Something just didn't sit well with her. An organ trafficker would have harvested as many viable organs as possible and then disposed of the body. But as far as Sakura could tell, the young girl she found was only missing her heart. That and the body was too carefully arranged for it to be that sort of a crime.

Standing up quickly, Sakura quickly moved to the back of the library. An elderly woman was there and quickly smiled as she recognized the young gennin approaching.

"Hello there, Sakura-chan! How are you doing?"

"Fine, Tanaka-san," Sakura replied. "And you?"

"Oh, as well as I can be. It's been a while since you've come to the library."

"I've been really busy with work," Sakura replied.

"That's right! Congratulations on that by the way. I always knew a smart girl like you would have no problem passing the academy exams. Now what can I do for you? We've gotten quite a few new novels since you were last here."

"Actually, I was wondering where you archived the news scrolls."

The librarian paused and eyed the young girl. "From how long ago?"

"Ummm, about five years I guess."

"Well, they're all downstairs but there are hundreds of them. Do you know what date you need?"

"Not exactly," Sakura replied, trying to hide her disappointment.

The librarian paused and let out a little sigh. "Well, I suppose for you Sakura-chan, I might something you can use to help. Just wait here a moment."

"Thank you!" Sakura smiled, watching the older woman disappear into the back. Several minutes later she returned, balancing a few heavy binders in her arms. Dropping them on the table, she stepped back and waved away the dust that was already causing Sakura to sneeze.

"The news agencies have records of stories divided into subjects like names and places," the librarian stated. "They usually give us a copy but you have to be very careful, this is our only one." Sakura nodded fervently as she looked at the big binders. "There are from the past five years and here's a scroll to write down which editions you need."

Sakura grabbed the scroll and took the binders in her arm. Her leg protested at the sudden increase in weight but managed to hold together as Sakura hobbled over to a table and deposited the load there.

Taking the binder stamped with the dates from five years ago, Sakura began to flip through the pages. As the librarian said, the articles were all subdivided into several topic headers, including location. Quickly, she located the town she needed and found the title of a story that had been about a murdered young girl. A bit further down the list, there was a headline proclaiming the capture of a known organ trafficker in the area.

Sakura jotted down the date of the article and was about to head over to ask for the copy of the article when she had a minor revelation. If they had caught the trafficker in the area, then there might be other articles that year about other murders. Flipping to the subject heading, Sakura ran her finger down until she found articles listed under organ trafficking.

In addition to several informational ones, there were five murders listed. Sakura frowned a bit. The whole idea of people murdering other people to steal organs seemed so distasteful. But then, she lived in a village with superb medical facilities, at her disposal for free since she was a ninja. Outside the Konoha walls… it was a different world.

Five murders, two referencing the fact that they were young girls. Sakura put down all of them anyway just in case. Looking at the rest of the huge binders, Sakura made a quick decision and started writing down any other article she could find.

Twenty minutes later, she presented her list to the librarian who looked a bit perplexed by the long list.

"I just had a hunch," Sakura shrugged.

"It will take a while to get all of these," the librarian. "Maybe you should just come back later."

Sakura was about to say she'd wait when her mother's voice drifted down the stacks to her. Turning around, she saw her parents waiting for her, arms laden with scrolls. With a final nod to Tanaka, she jogged off and met up with her parents.

* * *

"…then Asuma-sensei started yelling so loud that I swear all the trees in the forest shook." Ino grabbed Shikmaru's shirt and shook him to prove his point. 

"Yeah, all over a lousy pack of cigarettes," he huffed, pulling her hands free.

"So we ended up having to do 20 laps around the village just to make up for it," she sighed. Chouji nodded and continued to ravage the food dish in front of him.

Kiba let out a laugh. "Man, I would have paid to see that. Sounds like the time team 7 burned their sensei's dirty little book." He sat back in his chair, letting Akamaru climb out of his jacket and sit on his lap. "That's why I'm glad Kurenai-sensei doesn't have any useless vices."

Shino and Hinata nodded silently from their seats next to him. Kiba scratched Akamaru's ears thoughtfully. "Except every so often, when it's a new moon, she gets really cranky. Must be the lack of light or something." Hinata blushed and Ino just shook her head.

"So we're stuck doing 'special training tomorrow'," Ino finished. "That's probably why you got stuck with the assignment."

Kiba frowned. "Figures," he picked up Akamaru and let him climb back into his jacket. "Nothing like spending most of tomorrow searching for some old lady's parakeet."

"We should go," Shino said suddenly, standing up and bowing good night to team 10 as he turned away.

"He's right, got to get up at the crack of dawn anyway," Kiba added. "Come on Hinata, I'll walk you home."

Hinata nodded and stood up. "Thank you for letting us join you for dinner," she said politely before trotting after her teammates.

Shikamaru let out a deep breath. "At least we don't have to get up early tomorrow."

Ino frowned. "Yeah, but I would have rather done the mission then deal with whatever Asuma-sensei is cooking up for us."

She leaned forward and stirred her soup absentmindedly. The servers suddenly let out a welcoming greeting to some new arrivals and Ino's ears perked up at the familiar voices. She stood up and walked over to the newcomers.

"Good evening, Haruno family, "she smiled with a bow, blond hair bouncing as she did. She eyed her rival for a bit, looking for any signs of malice but found none. Fighting in front of their parents was something they both avoided.

"Ino-chan," Sakura's mom beamed. "It's been too long! Look at how pretty you've grown!"

"Thank you," Ino smiled. "My mom said to thank you for the desserts last week. They were really good."

"I'll make more then. Actually, why don't you ask your parents to come over for lunch tomorrow? Sakura doesn't have training so maybe you can get away for a few hours yourself."

Ino smiled and nodded. "I'll talk to my sensei."

"Don't you have a mission tomorrow?" Sakura asked suddenly.

Ino balked a bit, frowning as she bit back a retort. Geez, she was just being nice and Sakura had to get all nasty again. "Nope. Team 8 is going to Funari instead."

"Excellent," her mom stated. "We'll see you then! Right?" she said looking down at her daughter. Sakura looked at Ino for a moment and then nodded at her mother.

* * *

The lantern flickered softly, filling the room with light. Sakura quickly placed the towel under her door to prevent light from seeping into the outside hallway. She pulled the curtains shut and made sure that they blocked out all traces of the flame. With a smile, she pulled the scrolls she had retrieved from the librarian and dumped them on her desk. 

Late night studying was nothing new for her. The nights she couldn't sleep, she used to spend reading scroll after scroll until dawn. Her parents had caught her once and chastised her for not letting her body rest. So she just learned to block the cracks in her door so they never knew.

Besides, she didn't feel like sleeping any time soon. The nightmare from last night still lingered in the back of her mind, made worse by seeing Ino in person. Sakura fought back an involuntary shiver.

_Damnit_, she cried internally. _This is just stupid. I know that the dream scared me but it was just a dream. It's not like Ino's going to die and turn into a ghost anytime soon. She's too stubborn to do that._

She grabbed the blanket off her bed and wrapped it around her shoulder to avoid feeling cold anymore. As soon as she was comfortable, Sakura got to work.

She had done papers before, researched topics for hours for school but this was different. As she wrote down the fact from each case, she could already see a pattern emerging.

In total, she had pulled twenty seven articles. A few she could knock right off the bat as not what she was looking for. But there were at least a dozen that were eerily similar. Young girls, each with light colored hair, had been found dead in abandoned parts of their home town. The articles varied in the amount of detail but she could skim a few facts that seemed relevant.

There were brief mentions of an organ missing, the more sensational articles actually mentioned the heart by name. Others mentioned the strange white robe they had been dressed in.

Sakura looked over her notes and frowned. This didn't look right at all. Sure, the crimes were several years apart and in different town but someone must have noticed a pattern at some point. How could this go unnoticed?

She walked over to the map of Fire Country hanging on her wall and studied it for a moment. Walking back to her desk, she picked up several thumbtacks. Slowly, she placed a mark in each city where a death had occurred and a piece of paper with the date it was reported. As soon as she was done, she stepped back and looked at her work.

The tacks moved in a spiral, slowly winding around Konoha and coming in closer as the years progressed. She titled her head to one side and placed a finger on the last tack slowly tracing an arc to see what village would be next on the pattern. Her finger landed on a small village not far away from Konoha.

Funari.

Sakura frowned. Wasn't that where team 8 was going? She paused and tried to remember if Ino had mentioned what they were going there for. When the answer came up as a blank, Sakura frowned. No, it couldn't be another missing girl. It was too soon, right? All the previous murders had had a good amount of time between them.

Sakura paused as she studied the dates. First they were a year apart, then half a year but recently the pace had picked up considerably. Sakura stared at the map and at the date for a few more minutes before turning and jumping out her bedroom window.

* * *

Kiba let out a long yawn as he scratched his ear. Akamaru was sleeping silently in his coat, leaving his young master wishing they could trade places. There was rustling in the trees as Shino jumped from a high branch. Kiba managed a growl in greeting before returning to his scratching. A few moments later they were joined by a smiling Hinata who had brought along a thermos of hot tea. 

Kurenai arrived last and smiled gratefully as Hinata handed her a cup. She took a quick glance at her team, making sure they were all dressed appropriately for the cold morning before walking towards the gate. She paused a few meters from the exit, feeling a familiar presence coming up to them.

Turning, she watched as the pink haired ninja came to a stop in front of them. "Sakura?" she asked.

Sakura took in a few deep breaths and then plastered on a smile. "Ohayo," she said cheerily.

"You should be in bed," Kurenai said firmly. "And most definitely not running on that bad leg of yours."

Sakura nodded. "I know. I just wanted to ask a favor since I know you're going to Funari. That is if your mission isn't too tough."

Kiba let out something that sounded like a snort. "Yeah, finding a bird is real tough."

Sakura's face relaxed and Kurenai watched with hidden suspicion as relief flooded the younger girls face. "That's great. Then, do you mind picking a few sweet rolls from the bakery there? I heard they were extra good."

The team eyed her for a moment before Hinata perked up. "Of course, Sakura-san," she said. "I'll bring them to your house tonight."

Sakura smiled and waved as they continued on their way. As soon as they were out of eye sight, she let her smile falter a bit. It wasn't as bad as she had thought, they were only after a missing bird but things still didn't sit well with her.

She turned her eyes up to Hokage monument and watched as the several small forms climbed across the cliff face, slowly etching out the fifth's profile. She paused for a moment, wondering whether she shouldn't tell someone else about this.

But she wasn't really sure if she had found anything useful. These might all be coincidences. And shouldn't a higher level shinobi then her have seen the pattern first? Maybe she was just overreacting. Her parents seemed to think the whole experience with the dead girl had shaken her. And the dream with Ino didn't exactly help things.

Sakura looked at the rising sun. She hadn't slept at all. And worse, if her parents found out she had snuck out of her bedroom, they would be less then pleased. Torn for a moment, Sakura realized she needed more time to think. If she was seeing things that weren't there, losing sleep and worrying like this would do her no good. She needed to clear her mind and then make a rational decision. Rest now, think things through after a good meal. That was the best thing to do.

* * *

"Akamaru!" Kiba called out, watching as the young pup took off in front of them. 

"Maybe he smelled some food," Hinata said.

Kiba paused and sniffed the air. "No… but there is something in the air."

Kurenai's eyes moved from her genin student towards the village. She could see Akamaru there, barking at a large group of people who had gathered in town. Sensing no immediate danger, she merely quickened her pace, leading the team towards them.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking for some source of authority.

"You're the Leaf Ninja here to find Tsuka-san's bird," an older man asked approaching them.

"That's correct," Kurenai stated.

"Eesh, this is a lot of people to help us search for a bird," Kiba said.

"I'm afraid the plan has changed," the elder stated. "We need help finding something else first."

Kurenai frowned. She didn't like the way this was going. "I'm not sure that we can alter the agreed upon mission."

The elder's arm shot forward, his hand holding up a picture. "Juri Namaya," he stated, referencing the young blond girl in the picture. "She went missing last night and no one can find any trace of her."


	3. Knowledge

**Chapter 3**

Sakura woke up to a midday sun and the smell of lunch wafting through the house. She attempted to curl under her covers but had barely managed to close her eyes when her mother's voice demanded she get up.

With the last bit of energy she could muster, Sakura tumbled from her bed to the shower, tossing off night clothes as she moved before settling down under the hot stream of water and closing her eyes. She must have fallen asleep because suddenly the warm water had turn cold and she was shivering on the floor of the shower. Standing up, she winced as she felt her wounded leg protest to the rough treatment.

"SAKURA!!"

She winced at her mother's voice. Padding out to the hallway, she called back that she was almost done.

"Just hurry up, you don't want to keep our guests waiting."

Sakura paused and tried to comprehend what her mother just said. Guests? An image of Ino flashed through her mind and Sakura groaned. That's right, they were all coming over for lunch.

With a sigh, Sakura took out her more formal clothing and started putting them on. Great, a full day of listening to the adults chatter about boring things while she and Ino traded insults. She finished adjusting her obi and placed the clip in her hair just as there was a knock at the door.

"Door!" her mother called out.

"Got it!" Sakura called back, shuffling towards the door. The yukata forced her movement to be slower but at least it wasn't as stuffy as a kimono. She opened the door and bowed deeply preparing to welcome Ino and her family.

"Go…gomen nasai, Sakura-san, for disturbing you."

"Hinata-chan?" Sakura said, straightening up quickly and finding the young Hyuuga bowing in front of her. "What happened? Did you finish the mission that early?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, we… didn't get to do it. Kurenai-sensei brought us home early. Gomen… Sakura… I couldn't get the sweet buns you wanted."

That would explain why Hinata looked so scared and on the verge of tears. Sakura shook her head. "It's okay," Sakura said with a smile. "I just don't understand… your mission was cancelled?"

Hinata nodded slowly. "The village was looking for a missing girl. I don't know anything more, Kurenai-sensei made us wait while she went to look. I don't know what the details…"

Hinata slowly trailed off. The smile on Sakura's face had slowly faded with each word. A dark fog had replaced the bright glow in her green eyes. "Sa… Sakura?"

And then suddenly she disappeared. Hinata looked around and just barely caught sight of a blur of pink on the rooftops.

* * *

Sakura jumped quickly, cursing the tight fitting yukata with every landing, cursing the stupid pin that wasn't keeping her hair tightly enough to her head but most of her cursing herself.

_It can't be… please don't let it be… if I had just gone to the Hokage yesterday maybe…_

She finally landed in front of the Hokage's office and ran up the steps. Several of the assembled jounin there eyed her state of disarray but did nothing to stop her until she reached the door of the Hokage.

"Hold on a moment," the dark haired woman there yelled. Shizune stood up from her seat and walked over. "Haruno-san?" she said, recognizing the pink haired kunoichi. "What's the matter?"

Sakura caught her breath and tried to pull herself together. "I need to speak to the Hokage… now."

"Hokage-sama is in a meeting at the moment, you'll have to wait…"

"NO!" Sakura yelled, causing most of the jounin to turn around and stare. "If I wait… if I wait again then…" Sakura paused, trying to stop the knot in her throat from welling over to tears. "I can't wait," she finished firmly.

"I'm sorry but…"

"Let her in Shizune."

Shizune looked at the closed door with a frown before turning back to Sakura. She reached forward and quickly pulled the collar of Sakura's yukata together to make her more presentable.

"Go in then," Shizune said with a nod, satisfied that Sakura's appearance wasn't such a disgrace as before.

Sakura bowed in thanks and ran inside. "Hokage-sama, I need to talk with you about…"

Sakura slowed down, eyeing the Hokage's guest. The crimson eyed jounin looked at her, dirt covering most of the free skin of her body. Kurenai caught her eyes for a moment before looking away, not wanting the younger girl to see the distress they held.

Sakura came to a stop as she saw the Hokage's face. And suddenly she knew. It was too late. On the table, there was a bloodied white robe, a huge circular tear in the center.

Sakura's knee buckled and she fell to the floor, feeling the tightness in her chest unravel and spill over into tears. Kurenai started to advance towards the younger girl but Tsunade held up a hand.

"I knew…" Sakura sobbed. "I knew that it would be Funari next."

"How?" the Hokage demanded.

Sakura looked up and started to tell her everything she had discovered from the day she found the body to the moment Hinata told her that another girl was missing. Tsunade frowned at the end of her story.

"You're too smart for your own good sometimes, Sakura-chan," she finally settled on. "Only a very few people know about what you've just said."

"Then she's telling the truth," Kurenai asked, watching as Sakura wiped away her tears, shock dotting her face.

Tsunade nodded. "As much as she could know, I suppose. The bodies were never given over to public examination though so some of the details could never make it into the open. The hunter-nin saw to that."

"The hunter-nin?" Sakura said softly. "Why would they be involved?"

Tsunade frowned and reached down by her seat pulling a black bag onto her table. "The hole in their chests is what gave it away. Not many would have access to a weapon that could do that and no one outside of a shinobi village would even know what it was."

Tsunade reached in slowly and pulled out the metal cylinder. Sakura quickly stood up and shuffled next to Kurenai to look inside. The cylinder was hollow except for two diagonal leather straps that ran across its middle.

"It's rather gruesome device," Tsunade said softly, slipping her hand into it. She placed it on the edge of her desk, just a few inches away from the edge so it cleared the legs. "It's placed against the victim's chest and the first strap is pulled." There was a grating noise and Sakura jumped back, as six metal spikes jutted from the underside of the desktop.

"Then the second one is pulled," Tsunade said softly as her hand moved again. The spikes turned and then folded upward, coming together in the center. As Tsunade pulled her hand up, a perfect circle of wood was held in place by the device. Sakura edged forward and looked down, eyes opened wide at the huge whole that was now present on the Hokage's desk.

"That's what…" Sakura started, suddenly turning very pale as she realized the meaning behind the hole in the desk.

"We've tried to narrow down the list of targets," Tsunade said. "But there are several missing nin that would have access to this and be… disturbed enough to use it on civilians."

Kurenai frowned. "And you couldn't tell the towns that there was a missing nin on the loose targeting young girls. It would cause panic."

Tsunade nodded. "It happened seldom enough that we could find other explanations and the hunter nin would guard the surrounding areas to prevent further murders. The hunter nin even recognized the pattern and knew that Funari would be next but…"

"They didn't get there in time?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "No, they were there. I don't know how the missing nin evaded them." She sighed. "Now with this murder so close to the other, it will be much harder to keep the real story under wraps."

There was a knock on the door and Shizune stuck her head inside. She locked eyes with her boss and nodded firmly. Tsunade nodded back, watching as the door closed. "They returned with the body. Sakura, you can wait her while we…"

"No," Sakura shook her head. "No, I want to come. Even if you already knew what was going on… I feel a responsibility to help out."

Tsunade looked over at Kurenai but when the other showed no sign of objection, she nodded.

* * *

The cold was not the only thing making Sakura shiver. The thin fabric of the yukata was barely enough to keep out the iciness of this room but still, the memories of finding the first body were what was causing her skin to stand on edge. A medical nin looked up and bowed as Tsunade walked in. Tsunade returned the greeting before looking down at Sakura.

Sakura's hands were clasped at her sides as she eyed the table. Part of her was ready to leave right now. She knew what was under the blanket on that table. She had seen it before.

_So why do you have to see it again? Let's just go home._

Sakura's eyes narrowed as her resolve strengthened against the voice of fear in her head. _No… I won't. Everyone expects me to be scared. Mom and dad think I should be scared. But I'm not… I mean, I won't be. I can do this. I need to do this. Because I need…_

Sakura's feet moved forward. She walked to the table and stood next to the two jounin already there.

_Because I need to help stop this._

Tsunade reached forward and pulled the blanket away. The blonde haired girl's eyes were closed, for a moment making it look like she was asleep. Sakura bit her lip at the sight. It was just like before and it was just like her dream.

"Golden hair," Sakura said softly. "And her eyes?"

"Gray," the medical nin said, looking over his clipboard. "She was in perfect health and nothing else was… damaged. Only the wound in her chest."

Tsunade understood the underlying meaning in the man's words. The girl had not been assaulted in anyway, saving the gaping hole that killed her.

"All blonde, all gray eyed," Sakura said softly

"We'll need to send more hunter nin to the next town," Tsunade said. "Whatever made him attack two girls in such a short time span probably won't go away. There's no doubt in my mind that the killer will strike again soon."

"We could assign jounin to watch the roads," Kurenai started. "If so many weren't away at other missions."

Sakura slowly let the words of the two woman fade into the background as her mind digested the facts. A hunter nin… tracking down girls who looked the same. She had read a little bit of psychology on her spare time so she knew that the symbolism couldn't be overlooked.

Blonde hair and gray eyes probably represented someone that the killer knew. But what about the rest? There was the white robe. Had it been present on the scenes of the other murders?

And why the spiral patterns towards the village? Why did the attacks come quicker? There was too much symbolism, too many repeatable details to ignore. And she was sure that the hunter nin had not missed them but maybe… maybe another pair of eyes could help them.

"Sakura?"

Sakura blinked and looked at her two elders. They had worry in their eyes and she realized she had just been staring at the body.

"I was just thinking," Sakura replied. "When we go on search missions for missing animals, Kakashi-sensei always tells us to start from the place the animal came from since they don't stray far from home."

Tsunade looked at her with surprise and then smiled. "I see. Your sensei can be smart… at times."

Sakura looked at the body and paused. "If there were a D rank mission in Takamizu, I think team seven would volunteer for it."

Tsunade paused as she placed the name. Takamizu was the first place that a murder of this nature had been discovered. She smiled a bit. "Ah, Takamizu… you know I think something may have just come up."

* * *

"EH? Takamizu??" Naruto cried. "But that's so far away!!"

"Ninja don't question their orders." Kakashi stated. "Besides, this comes from Hokage herself."

Naruto brightened considerably. "Then it's got to be important!"

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered. "Everyone knows Takamizu has the best sake in Fire Country."

"Exactly!" Kakashi smiled. "And everyone knows how much Hokage likes her sake."

Naruto's jaw dropped and he was about to go into detail about how little he cared about Hokage's likes when he felt a familiar presence approaching. After debating for a moment, he decided he preferred being happy to being angry. So he immediately placed a huge smile on his face and started waving.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura quickly walked over to the bridge and let out a deep sigh. She had barely gotten any sleep last night again not so much from nightmares but from the fact that her mother had not forgiven her for disappearing from the arranged lunch.

It had taken several hours of being yelled at before Sakura could finally get to bed. Dropping the Hokage's name hadn't helped at all. In fact the only thing that helped was doing all the dishes and penning an apology letter to Ino's family.

Sakura shifted the bag on her shoulders as she returned Naruto's greeting. She smiled over at Sasuke as best as she could and then waited for Kakashi to give them the go ahead.

"Well then, let's…"

There was a plume of smoke and suddenly Sakura found herself face to face with Ino. A very angry looking Ino. The men of her team instinctively backed up, preparing themselves for the brawl that was about to occur.

"What's your problem?" Ino yelled.

Sakura balked a bit before she replied. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You just ditched lunch yesterday? Do you know how stupid I felt sitting around listening to just our parents."

"I didn't know that you were so keen on having me around," Sakura retorted. "Besides, the Hokage wanted to talk to me."

"No she didn't!" Ino cried. "I talked to Hinata-chan. She said you just ran off when you saw us coming."

Sakura paused for a moment. She hadn't really done that. She hadn't even realized that Ino's family was there. But Hinata must have interpreted her reactions as her getting upset when Ino showed up.

"So what?" Sakura said harshly. "Why would I want to be anywhere near you?"

It was nasty, nastier then most of the things she said. Most of the time, their insults were way out there, things that neither of them would actually believe. But what Sakura had said was real. And Ino's reaction was too.

She looked at Sakura for a moment, her eyes glistening slightly before she disappeared again. Sakura bit her lip too. She really hadn't meant to be that mean. But lately, every time she looked at Ino, she felt like she just wanted to run away.

Sakura turned around and was a bit surprised to see her teammates' expressions. They had seen the girls fight but it didn't usually end up with one of them in tears. Kakashi frowned a bit under his mask before turning around and starting the march again.

* * *

Crickets were singing by her window as Sakura opened her eyes. The moonlight was filtering through the cracks in the shutter of the inn's window. She let her eyes slowly adjust to it as she concentrated on her teammates' breathing. Naruto was snoring as always and the pace of the other two was steady. Good, they were all asleep.

Sakura stood up slowly, making sure not to make a noise. She carefully stepped among the sleeping forms on the floor and slid the door open. As soon as she was outside, she closed it firmly, listening by it to make sure that no one inside had woken up. After a few minutes she quickly padded to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Sasuke let out a deep sigh from his bed. He never slept well but it didn't help when his female teammate stomped around his head like an elephant. He gave up trying to sleep before she came back since it was likely that she'd wake him up again on her return.

After twenty minutes, his frown deepened. Standing up from his futon, he walked past the other two and opened the door, looking down the hall. The bathroom door was closed and there was light filtering from under it. But as he approached it, he didn't feel anyone inside.

His finger curled on the door, he paused for a moment before deciding that there was no way she was still in there. He slowly slid the door open, giving anyone inside ample opportunity to protest. When he was met with silence, he looked inside.

As expected it was empty. He walked in and glanced around, shivering slightly as something cold dance across his arm. Looking up, he saw the open window and frowned.

* * *

Sakura moved quickly, knowing she had only an hour or so tops before her teammates woke up and prepared to return home. And she really didn't feel like having to explain things. Besides, they'd realize why Hokage sent them on this mission and then there'd be questions about why they hadn't gotten the full information about the mission, why the Hokage hadn't told them why they were really being sent out here, and most of all why Sakura hadn't told them the truth.

_The truth?_ Sakura snorted. _Yeah, sorry guys. I keep having dreams about blonde haired Ino look-alikes asking for my help. _That would go over great.

She paused for a moment and unrolled the scroll, looking at the information the Hokage had provided. The house should be around here somewhere according to the address. But all the houses her were run down.

She sighed and found the last house that was numbered and slowly counted until she reached the one she needed. She opened the gate, cringing as it creaked in protest. She looked around but no one appeared to have woken up. But then again, it didn't look like there was anything alive in this part of time.

There was a shiver in her back and she yelled at herself for getting worked up over nothing. Whatever evil was here was long gone. She was a trained ninja, she shouldn't get worked up over stupid fears like this.

The house was dusty inside and she had to fight back a sneeze. Retrieving her flashlight from her pack, she started to look around, carefully testing the ground out before stepping forward. She didn't really feel like falling through another fall now that her leg was almost back to normal.

A wind chime sounded somewhere and Sakura jumped in fear. With a frown, she let Inner Sakura firm up her resolve until she felt confident enough to continue. She moved towards the sound of the chime and found herself in the kitchen.

It was the cleanest part of the house, save for a layer of dust, and there were strings surrounded a small square on the side. Walking over, she examined the area, kneeling down to look at the only blotch on the otherwise spotless floor. It was brownish in color and even though it was several years old, Sakura knew what it was right away. Blood. So this was where they had found the first victim.

The chime sounded again and Sakura stood up, tracing the ground with her light. There was a door that must have led outside. Curious, Sakura slid it open and stepped into the garden in the backyard.

In its prime, it must have been beautiful. But now weeds covered the stone lanterns. The bonsai grew out into grotesque shapes. Even the koi pond in the middle was undistinguishable, covered in a thick layer of algae. She walked over and peered in, seeing if any koi had survived but all she saw was the green cover.

"Sakura."

Sakura jumped, turning around as her hand gripped a kunai to prepare to attack. She stepped backwards and landed in the pond, the green algae grabbing at her legs. The ground was uneven and she couldn't get her footing until she finally sank to one knee and looked up at her attacker.

"Sasuke-kun?" she cried in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

He frowned at her, arms crossing in front of his chest. "That would be my question."

She frowned and looked around. With a slight smile and a shrug she looked up at him. "Ummm… going for a walk?"

"With a flashlight and scroll with the Hokage's mark?"

Sakura grimaced. He must have been following her the whole time and she didn't even notice. Great shinobi skill there, Sakura, she berated herself.

"I was just…ummm…"

She trailed off, looking up at Sasuke as he stared at the water where her flashlight was still shining. Something white was reflecting off it, still half buried in the mud. Without thinking, Sakura moved towards it, slowly moving her hand against the mud. Sasuke walked around, watching as she continued to disturb the bottom of the koi pond.

Pale white branches were her first guess. But as she started to see the form take shape, she realized what it was. Reaching down, she went to grab a piece and felt her fingers loop around something. She pulled up slowly, watching as the skull came out of the water.

"What…" Sasuke started before stopping short. Something else was pulling out of the water as she moved the skull from its resting place.

"WAIT!" he cried out but it was too late. The wire attached to the skull triggered the trap and the entire pond lit up as the explosion scroll ignited.

The explosion lifted them both backwards but Sakura never felt herself get burned. In fact, as soon as her vision cleared from the blinding explosion, she realized that she wasn't harmed in any way.

Looking up, she recognized the frowning face of her sensei whose quick thinking had obviously pulled her away in time. She looked quickly around until she found Sasuke who was trying to fend off a smirking Naruto who was demanding thanks for saving his hide.

"I think, Sakura-chan, it's time we talked," her sensei voice boomed suddenly bringing her back to reality. Her other teammates stopped bickering and looked at her with the same expression as their sensei.


	4. Sensei

**Chapter 4**

Sakura held onto the skull tightly and looked from her sensei to the ground as she sought the words to explain. On the one hand, she knew that Kakashi was her sensei and therefore directly in charge of her. But on the other she knew that Hokage out ranked him. And if she had been given a mission to Sakura and he was not informed, then the Hokage must have her reasons, right?

Kakashi-sensei always stressed teamwork. And keeping her team out of the loop had already proven dangerous. Besides, if she had their help then she wouldn't have to worry about a repeat of tonight's mishaps. She looked up at her sensei and saw his eye locked on hers.

Something nagged at her. Hokage had said they were trying to keep things under wraps so did that mean that included the ninja of Konoha as well? Had Hokage specifically not informed Kakashi that she was giving her a side assignment?

Sakura's hands gripped on the skull and she was shaking her head without even realizing it. Kakashi stared for a few more moments, letting the silence stretch for as long as possible. But suddenly there was a bell ringing and the fire brigade was rushing towards the smoking garden.

Without a word, he signaled their retreat, bringing them back to the inn. Naruto and Sasuke followed wordlessly but Sakura paused for a moment, letting her eyes stall on the house before she took off, following them.

* * *

"I don't get it!" Naruto said, hands on his hips. His eyes locked on the door where Sakura had quickly retreated to wash the soot off. 

"Sakura-chan didn't tell us that the old hag gave her a mission?" he continued. "Why not?"

Kakashi sighed and settled into a seat. "Hokage-sama may have said not to." He frowned slightly at thought but let it pass.

The water in the bathroom was cold but Sakura used it none the less. The black debris from the blast washed away but it only made her look pale. She really didn't want to go back outside and face the questions of her team.

There was a knock on the door and Sakura blinked the last traces of water out of her eyes. Time to face the music.

The door opened and Sakura took in a deep breath. Sasuke returned to his seat on the floor from knocking, a bored look on his face that was not present in his eyes. Naruto sat on the bed arm crossed, his face a contortion of emotions. Kakashi sat on the other side of the room, legs crossed but hands free of his ubiquitous book.

Sakura took the only chair in the room and sat down with her hands folded in her lap. No one spoke a word at first, as if each side was waiting for the other to break first. However, Sakura had no doubt in their mind who would speak first.

"I still don't get it," Naruto spoke up. "Why didn't you say Hokage-sama had something else for us to do?"

Sakura tightened the grip on her dress. "Because it wasn't for us to do. Hokage-sama wanted me to do this."

"Do what?" Naruto asked. "Why were you there in the first place?"

Sakura looked at him but was silent. She couldn't tell him. Hokage had wanted to keep this quiet.

"You won't tell me?" Naruto continued, looking somewhat hurt suddenly.

"Or you can't tell us," Kakashi added. "Did the Hokage forbid you from telling us?"

Sakura looked at him and wanted to tell him that was true. Even though Hokage had never said not to tell them what she was doing, she had also said she didn't want many people knowing. So Sakura just stayed silent.

"It's obviously something to do with the girl we found last week," Sasuke said suddenly, ignoring her while he talked to the male team members. "So was this another girl?"

Sakura looked at him, her Sasuke-kun and bit the back of her lip. Inside a tiny voice was telling her to just answer her question. To have him nod and tell her that it would be okay. That now they would all work on things together and they would make sure she was okay.

That's what she wanted wasn't it? To be protected by them. To make sure she didn't almost blow herself up. To keep the nightmares away. That was it, right?

But instead she just stared at him, not answering his question, controlling the emotions on her face until his own flashed annoyance and he turned away. "You had to know about this," he addressed Kakashi.

But Kakashi shook his head. "I was just ordered to bring sake back for Hokage. But if she did give you a mission, she must have wanted us to know."

"I don't know," Sakura answered.

"Hokage is very busy, she probably didn't have the chance to tell me before we left."

"But she gave the scroll to me," Sakura replied, feel a bit more sure of her answer. "And she told me to open it when I got there."

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi said, his voice a mix of firmness and teasing. "You know that as your sensei I should be in charge of your missions."

Sakura looked at him for a moment before she replied. "In the stadium, at the end of the chuunin fight, you told Shikamaru to go with us but Asuma-sensei wasn't there to agree. So wouldn't this be the same thing?"

Kakashi looked at her for a moment before sighing. "That was an emergency situation. And besides, I told Asuma the moment I saw him."

"So…" Sakura started, her voice wavering a bit. "When we get back, Hokage will tell you."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at her, mild shock against their face. She had just completely ignored her sensei's request.

"Sakura," Kakashi said again. "This is your last chance to tell the truth. Otherwise I will have to report this as disobedience."

Sakura kept her hands in her lap and slowly nodded, knowing that he was serious. But she still stayed silent.

"All right then," he said. "You two can go to sleep," he said motioning to the boys. "Sakura, you'll stay up with me as I write my report. When I'm done we'll head back to Konoha and you'll be carrying the cargo by yourself."

Sakura looked up at him and then at the two huge caskets of sake in the corner. He couldn't really mean that. But looking at him, she saw in the one eye that he was very serious. The voice in her mind tried one more time to break her resolve but instead she looked at him and remained silent.

* * *

By the time the sun set the next day, Sakura was sure she had died somewhere along the road and it was just her ghost that was limping behind the rest of her team. Her arms were raw from the ropes that she was using to balance the drums on her arms and back. Her legs were torn up from the numerous times she had buckled to the ground under the weight. She was sure she looked like a wreck. 

But she still stayed silent. Somehow, in the course of her interrogation and even this humiliating punishment, she had come to a firm conclusion. Hokage probably wouldn't have punished her if she told her teammates. Sakura could have even argued that it was an oversight on her part for not being specific enough. But in the end, Hokage would have just sighed in a way that meant that Sakura was too young and too unskilled to understand why some things were better left unsaid.

And somewhere on the road, Sakura realized that that was why she remained silent. Even if the Hokage told them everything the moment she walked in the door, it still meant that Sakura had never broken an order, even if it was an unclear one.

The Hokage's office loomed in front of them and Kakashi dismissed her teammates and lumbered forward, not bothering to give her a hand as she trudged up the stairs and deposited the cargo at the desk.

While she explained what they were, he still continued upwards towards Hokage's office. By the time she was finished, she had to run up the stairs to catch up with him. Shizune eyed her as she approached, obviously unhappy again with her state of disarray. But instead of commenting, she just waved the two of them in.

"Welcome home," Tsunade said, from her desk. "I trust my cargo has returned unharmed."

She looked up from her paperwork and finally got a good look at the young genin in front of her. "Sakura, why don't you go home, wash up and come back in a bit."

"But," Sakura started, her words almost lost beneath the labored breathing. "I have something…"

"It can wait," Tsunade said. "For an hour at least."

Sakura looked at her and slowly nodded. She turned on her feet and walked out the door, not sparing her sensei a glance. As soon as Shizune closed the door, Kakashi let out a sigh.

"Do I get to know why my student probably won't speak to me for a week?"

Tsunade let out a sigh. "First things first. Let me see your report." Kakashi handed her the scroll and she began to read through it, pausing only what she got more then halfway through.

"An explosion note?" she asked.

"Set to trigger if someone disturbed the body. Which was hidden under a layer of mud in the koi pond, by the way. It's probably why the hunter-nin never found it."

Tsunade frowned. "I hadn't expected something like that."

Kakashi shrugged as he took a seat. "It's why I was there."

Tsunade nodded and continued to read through the report. "So she never told you what she was looking for? Even when the Uchiha kid asked?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm still unsure of what this was all about. I could understand giving her an assignment and letting her carry out while I just watched, it would be good practice for her. But why did you want me to catch her in the act? And why the little interrogation afterward?"

Tsunade put the scroll down. "I want to see how she would react when the pressure was on."

"I work hard to keep them as a team," Kakashi stated. "So it is important for me to know why you wanted to tear them apart."

"I didn't want to do that," Tsunade replied. "I wanted to see if she could understood the basics of keeping a secret."

"Why?"

Tsunade looked at him and sighed. "It's been bothering me for a while. Here was a genin that managed to piece together a murder case that only the hunter-nin have known about. She has to be intelligent to do that but at the same time, it's not the same intelligence as say, Shikamaru who will probably be a great Jounin general someday."

"Sakura's intelligent," Kakashi replied. "We've always known that. She just lacks the physical prowess that some of the other genin had."

"And she is weak emotionally sometimes," Tsunade replied. "But her mental resolve, once tested, is probably stronger then any of the rookies. Against Ino, she broke a mental hold that most Jounin wouldn't have been able to counteract."

"True," Kakashi replied. "But I still don't see the point. Why subject her to having her teammates angry at her? Why threaten her with punishment and then humiliate her in the end?"

"Did she cry?" Tsunade asked.

Kakashi paused and thought back through the past day's event. "No, she didn't."

"A younger Sakura would have," she replied. "A less experienced Sakura would have begged for help, broken down the minute one of you asked what was going on. But she's grown up a bit. She may not be a chuunin physically but in other facets, she's already reached the level."

"So what now? More training?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes but… not from you." Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "That was the second reason for all of this. I know Jiraiya is training Naruto while you concentrate on Sasuke. Neither of you could really teach Sakura anything beyond the basics as it is. So I approached another jounin and he agreed, tentatively, based on the results of this little test."

Kakashi paused, running through the list of jounin before he realized who it might be. He looked at the Hokage, eye narrowed a bit as he formed the question. "Who?"

* * *

For the first time since she was a child, Sakura ran through the streets of Konoha with her hair wet. Her mother had been surprised at the sight but said nothing as Sakura had run out the door before she could. 

Sakura clutched the parcel to her chest, momentarily forgetting it was the remains of another human being. Reaching the Hokage's office, she bounded up the stairs, no longer tired but determined to show what she had found to the Hokage.

Shizune stopped her at the door so Sakura took a seat. Glancing at the clock she realized that she had made it there in record time. Hokage must still be in there with Kakashi-sensei. Curiosity got the better of her and she tried to edge forward towards the door to listen in.

She backed away quickly, confusion over her face. She could have sworn she heard Kakashi-sensei raising his voice but he never did that unless he was very angry. Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat as she worried if he wasn't upset at her.

Suddenly there was the tell tale sound of a smoke plume and she knew Kakashi had left. Looking over at Shizune, the other woman sighed and motioned her inside. Sakura ran inside, looking at the Hokage as she tried to ignore the last wisps of smoke.

"Hokage-sama," she bowed as entered.

"Good evening Sakura," the Hokage replied, fatigue lacing her voice. "Is that the skull?"

Sakura balked a bit as she handed it over. "Kakashi-sensei already told you."

Tsunade nodded as she worked the knot of the fabric. "Yes."

Sakura paused and looked at her. "And he knew that I was going to the house to look for more clues." The older woman nodded. "Oh…" Sakura finished sounded disappointed.

Tsunade looked up. "He did know but he was also under order to not tell you he did."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Why didn't you tell him?"

Sakura paused and looked at her. "I thought… maybe you didn't want them to know. You said you were keeping all this from the villagers. So I thought maybe you didn't want the rest of the ninja here to know as well." Sakura frowned. "I don't understand…"

"You will," Tsunade broke in. "Soon enough. Sakura, I know you haven't had that much practice lately…"

Sakura panicked slightly. "I'm sorry about the explosion note! I should have remembered to look…"

Tsunade waved a hand to stop her. "That's not why I'm bringing this up. I just think it's time that you had another instructor to help you."

"Like Naruto?"

"Something like that," Tsunade replied. "But it can't interfere with your work with Kakashi and your teammates. So you'll need to come here first thing tomorrow, before the sun has risen."

Sakura nodded, trying to hide her excitement. Another instructor, just for her? "And the skull?"

"I'll have some of the hunter-nin look at it," Tsunade replied. Noting the disappointment in Sakura's eyes, she quickly added, "and once they've given me a report, we'll go over it."

Sakura nodded happily and bowed as she left. Running down the streets to go back home, she could hardly contain her excitement. It would be hard to get to sleep tonight, she thought, but the moment she reached her bedroom, the physical stress from the day before hit her and she quickly passed out on her bed, falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Sakura pulled the jacket around her as she walked down the empty streets. She could smell the fresh bread being prepared for the morning rush but other then that, Konoha was dead silent. 

Shivering a bit at the thought, she quickened her pace until she got to her destination. There were a few jounin there but none of them approached her. She thought about going to the Hokage but she had heard the rumors of how much the Hokage liked her sleep. Instead she took a seat and waited.

Fifteen minutes later, against her better wishes, she had fallen asleep. A strong hand gripped her shoulder and gave it a shake, jolting her awake. She stood up quickly, apologizing before she fully woke.

"Oh…" she said, her eyes suddenly catching up to her brain. "Ibiki-san… I thought you were someone else."

"Your new sensei? Well, then, you were correct to apologize for falling asleep to me."

Sakura eyes widened a bit. She looked at the man in front of her, the tattered body of the infamous jounin interrogation and torture specialist. He studied her face and let out a low sigh.

"I take it that Hokage did not tell you who to expect."

Sakura shook her head and quickly gathered her senses. "She just said to meet here at this time, Ibiki-san… eh… Ibiki-sensei."

Ibiki paused. His eye locked on her like a fox waiting to see if a rabbit would bolt. But even though there were traces of panic in her eyes, she was not bolting. "All right, then. Let's go."

Sakura nodded, trying to maintain her calm exposure. She wasn't sure if she was more shocked or terrified but either way, she managed to get her feet moving. Hokage had really given her over to Ibiki-san for teaching? Or was this another form of punishment?

And suddenly it hit her. Everything that happened yesterday suddenly made sense if she looked at it as coming from Ibiki. His performance at the chuunin exam already proved that he knew how to manipulate them mentally. Had it all been a test? Did his agreeing to teach her mean she had passed?

For a moment, Sakura was mildly proud of herself. She had once again beaten the dodgy old jounin at his own game, take that.

And then she realized exactly where he was taking her. The most dreaded place in Konoha, one spoken only in whispers, the Interrogation chambers. The small child inside of her screamed in terror and ran away. Inner Sakura even cringed before bulking up and declaring she could conquer anything.

Outer Sakura wasn't as sure. But she just followed, silently behind her new sensei. They paused only briefly at the main door, the jounin on guard there barely sparing her a second glance as he unlocked the door to let them in.

It was everything people claimed it was. Cold and dank, with long steps leading into the darkness. The only sound was their own feet echoing as they moved deeper into the complex.

He stopped the third floor and walked down a long hall. By now, however, the place was beginning to look more normal, like the offices in any other Konoha administrative building. The entrance must just have been for effect.

Ibiki stopped and opened the door, ushering her inside. She peeked in, expecting to see instruments of torture but instead found herself face to face with walls of filing cabinets. She looked up at him in confusion.

"These are our case files for ninja of the village," he explained quickly. "Not as complete as the hunter-nin's but good enough for what you need." He pulled out a watch and eyed the time. "I told Hokage this would not interfere with your primary sensei's teaching so you have until your meeting time with him to find what you need. Consider it your first assignment."

And with that he turned away, leaving Sakura without letting her ask exactly what she was looking for.

* * *

Ibiki frowned as he sat at his desk, drinking in the coffee that an assistant had left for him. He looked over the file they had on Haruno Sakura and shook his head again. Taking on a student, he snorted to himself. As if there wasn't enough to do during a normal day. 

With any luck, he'd swing by in a few hours and find her asleep on the stacks. That would be a reasonable excuse to tell her she wasn't cut out for this sort of training. Besides, they usually waited until they were a bit older, at least chuunin, before offering them a chance to train here. Why Hokage had thought that this bubbly, cheerful child would be of any use to him was something beyond him.

She might be intelligent but there were few who could do what he did. He didn't see her as the type to be able to torture anyway. But the Hokage had pointed out her ability to collect information and that was important here too.

The sun rose somewhere. Though there were no windows in his office, Ibiki knew that morning had come. He stood up and wandered back to where he had left the girl and opened the door slowly so as not to wake her.

Instead, he was awash in light. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust before he realized she must have turned on every light in the room. And more so, the girl herself was a bundle of energy as she moved up and down the ladders, carrying armloads of folders.

He cleared his throat to get her attention and two green eyes shot up in surprise. She looked a bit afraid but it wasn't because of him. It was more likely because the entire room was in disarray.

"Ah…" she started looking very nervous. "I was just trying to narrow down the list," she started rambling. "So I decided to go by date, picking missing nin who left Konoha just a few years around the first murder. Only everything here was alphabetical so it took some searching to find what I needed. And I know it's a mess but I'll clean it up as soon as I'm done. Though I think that maybe you should have some sort of way of telling what year they were listed as missing, maybe colored tabs on their file instead of just all plain ones."

Ibiki stared at her as he began to see what the Hokage may have been talking about.

"Indeed," he finally settled on, walking towards where there were a couple of dozen folders stacked neatly next on a desk. He eyed the scroll that she had been taking notes on, waiting as she quickly got up and bounded over to where he was.

"I narrowed down the years then based on whether or not the ninja had been caught," she said. "Then based on weaponry that they used and finally…umm… I guess on their mental stability."

"What do you mean by that?"

Sakura sighed. "Well, you know there was a pattern in the killings, right? So I figured that whoever was responsible had to have some serious issues related to blonde girls." She frowned as she picked up three folders. "And these are the three I came up with."

Ibiki took them and started to read. Sakura watched nervously as he did, looking for any sort of reaction on his face. After a while, she determined it was impossible to tell anything from looking at him.

"Interesting," he said suddenly. "Why did you pick this one?"

Sakura looked at the file with a frown. "It fit everything I was looking for, only… he would be a bit young still."

"I thought they needed to have 'serious issues' with blonde girls."

Sakura nodded and bounded away, picking up a file and returning it to him. "I didn't think to look at first but it said that one of the reasons you suspected he fled was because of the death of a teammate. And when I saw the picture of her…"

Ibiki looked at the photograph in the folder. The young girl there smiled at him, blonde hair cascading over her shoulders and gray eyes smiling. Ibiki frowned and Sakura took the folder away.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I just got a bit carried away with all the searching."

"No," Ibiki said suddenly. "You're right. This was one of the missing nin on the list of suspects."

Sakura smiled a bit. "When I saw her, I just knew he had to be. Only… there was one thing I didn't understand." She took the folder and flipped through it until she got to the right page. "See, here it says he went missing right after the girl died. But it says the third teammate was sent to Yasumi Dokoro." She frowned. "A haven of rest… does that mean he's dead?"

Ibiki closed the folder and looked at her. "No… Yasumi Dokoro is…" He trailed off and eyed her. His eyes flicked at the folder as if he still wanted to believe that the Hokage had been wrong about Sakura. But this was proof enough that she was as smart as they said.

"Yasumi Dokoro is something you will need to see for yourself," he said. "Come with me."

* * *

They traveled the halls, moving up and down stairs until Sakura was sure they were lost. She kept close to Ibiki, wondering how he could even remember his way in this maze. They finally started climbing stairs, going up until sunlight broke through and cascaded them in warmth. 

Sakura blinked a few times before she realized where they were. The big mountain that loomed in back of them must have been the same mountain with the Hokages carved into it. Only now, they were on the other side.

The place was deeply wooded and Sakura felt a certain peace settle over her, despite the sharp stone walls that encircled the area. In the middle was a clearing and a beautiful house that stood amidst landscaping.

A young woman in a plain kimono shuffled out quickly to greet them, bowing to Ibiki as he explained who Sakura was. The woman nodded and ushered them inside, watching to make sure they took off their shoes.

They walked inside, passing by countless rooms with people in them. Some were just children, other were clearly nearing the twilight of their lives. After awhile, Sakura realized that they all shared one thing.

"Here we are," the woman said, stopping by a room and sliding opening the door.

Inside, there was a simple bed with a desk and chair by the window. In the chair sat a young man. His long brown hair tied at the nape of his neck. At the sound of people entering he turned slightly, facing them for a moment before turning away.

It was the same, Sakura realized. The same dead look she had seen on the rest of the inhabitants' faces.

"What's wrong with him?" Sakura whispered under her breath.

The nurse turned and looked at her sadly. "He's been like this since the death of his teammate several years back. Staring out the window, barely speaking." She sighed. "Sometimes, the children are not made for their lives we ask them to lead. Sometimes, they break under the stress of it all. "

"Then this place…" Sakura started, looking at Ibiki and the nurse.

"It's a sanatorium dear," the nurse said. "Where we take care of the ones who were not strong enough to endure the life of a ninja."

There was laughter and Sakura realized it was coming from the boy at the window. The nurse reacted quickly, rushing towards him.

"Kanaye-san, please calm down," she said, softly.

"Why are you here?" Kanaye laughed. "Come to see the remains of failed ninja like the rest?"

Sakura bit her lip. "No," she said softly. "We wanted…" she paused looking at Ibiki and then the nurse. Neither seemed to want to stop her. "We wanted to ask you about Nozomi."

Kanaye stopped laughing. His eyes glazed over and he looked out the window. "You want to know how we failed her," he said softly. "How Kin and I let her die." He stopped talking and looked out the window.

And then, he started speaking again, telling them the story from so many years ago.


	5. Report

**Chapter 5**

_Nozomi told us she would be okay and for whatever reason, Kin and I believed her. Believed her as they took her away and believed her when she said she would be back for dinner.  
  
But that was how Nozomi was. She wasn't strong or exceptionally smart but she tried her hardest. She might be afraid but she never showed it. She didn't pretend to be anything more then she was. Simple, beautiful Nozomi.   
  
Kin and I were polar opposites. He was all brawn and I was brains. Nozomi was the bridge between us, the one thing we agreed on. In the academy, Kin made sure the bullies were kept at bay and I helped her with her studies. I don't know how it worked, really. Kin and I should have hated each other but with her, it just seemed right.  
  
When we graduated together, it was no surprise we were a team. Sensei was impressed with the way we worked and told us that with some training, we'd be ready for the chuunin exams in record time.  
  
We practiced every day after missions. Kin was impossibly strong. He could pick Nozomi up with one hand and twirl her over his head. I was good at genjutsu and it used to amuse her to watch all the illusions I could make. We were happy, the three of us.   
  
We weren't as strong as some of the other teams, we had no geniuses or bloodline children. But sensei put us up our rookie year for chuunin. If Nozomi was nervous, she didn't show it. And it wouldn't have mattered. Kin and I would be with her and neither of us would let anything happen to her.  
  
A few weeks before the exam, sensei called us for normal training. Only when we arrived at the meeting spot, there was a squad of Anbu there. Sensei was yelling at them and arguing with whatever they had just told him.  
  
When they saw us, they walked up to Nozomi and took her away, talking to her while a couple of them kept the rest of us away. Kin punched one of them, cracked his mask right in half. It was mayhem after that. By the time Nozomi stepped in, I had a black eye and Kin's jaw was obliterated.  
  
"It's okay," she said. "They just want me to help them with a mission."  
  
But neither of us was convinced.  
  
"It's just a mission," she smiled. "I'll be okay. I'll be back for dinner. So don't worry, ne?"  
  
What else could Kin and I do? If all of sensei's yelling had changed things, what could we do? Besides, these were Anbu, whatever they wanted had to be the result of an order from the Hokage himself.  
  
So we let her go. I remember how she smiled, promising to fill us in as soon as she got back. And we believed her. We just watched as they took her away.  
  
They brought her home that night, hidden beneath a white sheet and whisked away to a temple for funeral rites. They never let us see her, never explained what happened to us but sensei told us later.  
  
"Bait," he said. "They needed her as bait to lure an assassination target out. He had a thing for pretty blonde girls but was too smart for illusions, so she was perfect. They knew he was in Takamizu, she just had to get him to notice her and the Anbu would take care of the rest. That was all she was supposed to do."  
  
But the Anbu had lost her in the crowd. Just for a moment. But it had been enough for him to take her to the back alley. By the time the Anbu found him, she was already dead.   
  
They burned her body the next day. Kin was gone by evening. I wasn't surprised. She was the only thing that had kept us together. And when she was gone, nothing mattered anymore. Not being chuunin, not even being ninja. Everything became meaningless._

* * *

"So I ended up here," Kanaye said, a sad smile on his face. "Where else could I go? Everything I learned was useless. Everything I had dreamed was an illusion." He paused, hands gripping the sill tightly as he stared at the window. "I loved her. And she was gone."  
  
He fell silent again and the nurse attempted to talk with him. But he was silent, eyes glazing over as he returned to his catatonic state.  
  
Ibiki put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and slowly led her out. She was silent, trying desperately not to let the story affect her. She needed to be rational to think things through.  
  
Ibiki eyed her as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. But when she turned to him, he could see the glistening of her eyes. Somehow, she managed to keep the tears at bay.  
  
"Can they really do that?" she asked. "The Anbu, that is."  
  
"Yes," he replied. "The Anbu would have been clear on the danger and Nozomi could have said no. However, a ninja must always be prepared to accept whatever mission is given to them. She understood the risks but her dedication to Konoha superceded it."  
  
"She was only… she was only my age." Sakura slowed her steps and looked around. Ibiki slowed his steps and looked at her, preparing himself for the deluge of emotion.   
  
Instead, she looked at him, sadness hidden beneath her eyes. "They never told us at the academy. That you could die so young. We all just assumed that was something that might happen later on, when you were a jounin or something. It never crossed anyone's minds that we might not even make it that far. Until the chuunin exam, that is." She paused and put a hand to the wall. "And they never told us about a place like this."  
  
"They don't tell you a lot at the academy," he said. "Some of it, for your own good." He looked down the hall. "This place is not someplace you want to know about. It's easier to believe that it's not needed."  
  
He took in a deep breath. "As ninja, we walk a very dangerous path. Some excel and lead Konoha to glory. Others fall and become hunted for the rest of their lives. And there are those who just stop moving all together. No longer civilian but no longer a ninja, they need some place to be."  
  
He looked at the clock on the wall. "You need to get going. Can you find your own way out?"  
  
Sakura nodded and started to walk away.  
  
"Haruno," Ibiki called and Sakura's feet came to a stop. "Hokage-sama was right about you. If you still want, I'll teach you."  
  
For a moment, Sakura's face lit up and then it faded quickly as she nodded. With a gruff nod, Ibiki sent her off again.

* * *

Kakashi frowned as Naruto launched into another tirade at Sasuke. Sakura was already putting herself in the middle as she tried to stop the impending fight. The scene played itself out every day, but Kakashi never grew tired of it.  
  
He turned and waited for whoever was approaching to materialize. A puff of smoke later, he found himself face to face with someone he could have done without seeing.  
  
"Ibiki," Kakashi said, keeping a reserved stance.  
  
"Kakashi," Ibiki replied. "I'm here to talk about our student."  
  
Kakashi's face frowned a bit. "Ah… so she's agreed."  
  
Ibiki nodded. "It seemed like the thing to do." He shifted his weight as he sat down. "I know you might not agree."  
  
Kakashi shrugged. "It's not my decision to make."  
  
"It is… you are their captain."  
  
Kakashi let out a breath. "Their academy sensei tried to hold them back from taking the chuunin exam. And I told him they weren't his anymore, that they were my soldiers." He paused as he looked at three genin. "Now, I know that they're Konoha's soldiers." He smiled a bit. "And that they need more then me to grow strong. Only, at the same time, I think I understand Iruka's position a bit more."   
  
"They say being a sensei to genin is the hardest thing for a jounin to do," Ibiki said.   
  
"It's true," Kakashi replied. "But not in the ways you think." He paused for a moment. "Still, if something were to happen…"  
  
Ibiki shook his head. "Nothing will."  
  
Kakashi smiled. "That's good. Because I wouldn't be the only one coming after you."  
  
In the distance, Naruto and several clones were yelling as Sasuke launched a fireball at them and Sakura jumped to get out of the way.

* * *

"NARUTO!!!" Sakura yelled, charging at the only remaining version of him. The rest of the clones had disappeared on impact. "Stop picking on Sasuke-kun!"  
  
Naruto flailed backwards, waving his arms. "It's not my fault he's in such a lousy mood. You're the one who's keeping secrets and making us all nervous."  
  
Sakura came to a stop and frowned. He had her there.  
  
"Like why were you late today?" He whined. "Even Kakashi-sensei was here before you."  
  
"Sakura-chan has a new sensei," Kakashi said as she rejoined them.  
  
Naruto paled and even Sasuke looked a bit disturbed. "Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, looking at her with glistening eyes. "You're not going to be on our team anymore."  
  
"Baka," Sakura retorted. "I'm just getting another sensei like Jiraiya-sama."  
  
"EH?!?!" Naruto said. "Sakura-chan is being taught by a pervert??"  
  
"Ibiki-sensei is not a pervert!!" Sakura yelled.  
  
The group fell into silence as Ibiki's name echoed in the clearing.   
  
"Ibiki?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence. "The man who gave us the first part of the chuunin exam?"  
  
Sakura laced her fingers and nodded proudly. _See, Sasuke-kun. Someone realized I was strong and wants to teach me. And he's a great jounin to boot._ But he didn't look impressed at all.  
  
"No way," Naruto said. "What can he teach you?"  
  
Sakura paused and shrugged. "I don't know yet but Hokage-sama was the one who requested it." Sakura let out a gasp. "Hokage-sama! I was supposed to go talk to her today."  
  
"I suppose our day was over anyway," Kakashi said and in a flash she was gone.  
  
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto asked. "Sakura-chan's acting weird."  
  
Kakashi looked and was astonished to find that it was not only Naruto that was listening for his answer. The jounin sighed. "Give it a week and I'm sure Sakura-chan will explain everything."  
  
He looked up at the sky and frowned as he heard the eagle's call. The circling pattern it flew could only mean one thing.  
  
"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, watching the expression on his teacher's face change.  
  
"Go home," Kakashi said. "Both of you. And don't come out until I tell you to."  
  
Sasuke looked up at the sky and saw the hawk. "What does it mean?" he demanded.  
  
Kakashi looked at them. "It means exactly what I said. Now go!"   
  
A bit taken a back by the tone in their sensei's voice, the boys had no choice but to do as ordered, leaving just as their sensei disappeared.

* * *

There was something wrong. Sakura knew it the moment she rounded the corner and saw the Hokage's offices come into view. There were people amassed outside it, yelling at the jounin guards who tried to keep them out. From the look of it, they were all civilians and based on what they were screaming, Sakura suspected that news of the serial killer had leaked.  
  
She tried to get up the stairs but a wall of people prevented it. Letting out an exasperated breath, she was about to jump over them when a solid hand on her shoulder pulled her back.  
  
"Kakashi-sensei?"  
  
"You need to go home," he said.  
  
Sakura was about to question him when she saw the motion in the sky. She looked back at him and shook her head. "I need to see Hokage first."  
  
"Hokage sent the hawk meaning she's already got too much to take care of," he said. He was about to pull her away when someone grabbed Sakura's other arm. Kakashi looked up, eyes looking with Ibiki as the other man held onto Sakura.  
  
"Your sensei is right," Ibiki said after a moment's pause. "But Hokage said to give you this." He handed her a scroll.   
  
Sakura's brow furrowed as she tried to put the pieces together. She looked at the hawk in the sky and then back at the crowd. Her mind drifted back to the map on her wall and she let out a little gasp. "There was another murder. In Bokuma." Ibiki nodded slowly. "That means Konoha's next, right?"  
  
"Curfew at sunset for all chuunin and below," Ibiki said. "If Kin has managed to elude the hunter-nin for this long, then only a jounin could match him."  
  
"So you think it was Kin too," Sakura asked.  
  
"Ah," Ibiki nodded. "After I told Hokage that Nozomi was killed in Takamizu, she was in agreement. But until they catch him, stay at home. Understand?"  
  
Sakura frowned but Ibiki let go of her arm and Kakashi didn't spare a moment whisking her away.

* * *

Her mother was still thanking Kakashi as Sakura ran to her bedroom. It hadn't taken long for word to spread. A killer was on the loose in Konoha and everyone was to remain in their houses until the all clear signal was given. No doubt every street in the town would be under watch.  
  
"So stay here and don't even think of leaving," Sakura's mother started as soon as she reached her bedroom. "Your father already left and from what he tells me, the jounin have been ordered to use any force necessary to keep this town safe."  
  
Sakura frowned but nodded all the same, hiding the scroll under her pillow. "I'll just stay here and read."  
  
Her mother eyed her wearily but left without pressing any further. Sakura let out a short breath and quickly retrieved the scroll. She might not be able to help them patrol the streets but maybe she could do something with this.  
  
The sun had just kissed the horizon when Sakura finished reading through the document. As she had promised, Hokage had sent information they retrieved from the skull. A lot of it, she didn't understand. Most of the terminology was the stuff that only medical-nin would know.  
  
Beyond that, the report was pretty useless in terms of identifying who the skeleton had been. The skull belonged to someone who was somewhere between twelve to fifteen as the twelve year molars having not come in yet. There was no significant damage to the skull so apparently they hadn't been killed by a blow to the head. In fact, the only thing that was odd was that mandible had been broken and a few teeth were missing.  
  
Sakura frowned a bit, trying to remember enough anatomy to place the mandible. She walked up to her bookcase and pulled anatomy book from there. She flipped the index and found the page she needed.  
  
The book started to shake in her hands and Sakura dropped it to the floor. The page fluttered in the wind but the picture of a jaw was still there.  
  
By the time Nozomi stepped in, I had a black eye and Kin's jaw was obliterated.  
  
Sakura shook her head and ran back to her bed to get the report. She reread it, reading the physicians scrawl as they speculated that the jaw had been broken recently. In other words, the skull they had retrieved at Takamizu was from a twelve to fifteen year old who had just been punched in the mouth.  
  
It wasn't possible, she rationalized. It could be anyone. It didn't have to be who she thought it was.  
  
But could she really believe that there was that much coincidence in the world? More importantly, if Kin was the one in the koi pond back in Takamizu, then who was responsible for the murders?  
  
Sakura jumped off her bed and ran to her window. The sun was halfway down and she didn't even know if she could make it to Hokage's offices. And she wasn't even sure if this meant what she thought it was.  
  
Her mind drifted back to finding out about the Funari murder, how upset she had been when she thought it was her fault another girl was killed. Now, she had another chance in Konoha.   
  
Sakura looked at her room for a moment longer before deciding. She jumped out the window and took off running, medical report clutched to her chest. The sun's setting rays were bathing Konoha in an eerie golden red hue as she moved, leaving a wake of dust behind her.   
  
The Hokage's office came into view but the crowd was long since gone, stuffed back into their homes before curfew took effect. The two jounin standing guard there stared at her and moved quickly to stop her as she came barreling at the door.  
  
"Hold on!" one of them yelled, grabbing her before she cleared the door. "What are you doing out? You know that there is…"  
  
"I need to talk to the Hokage!" Sakura yelled.  
  
"No, you need to be home."  
  
"HOKAGE!!" Sakura screamed, yelling at the upper window where she knew the Hokage's main office was.  
  
"Hey!" the jounin protested, trying to cover her mouth. But Sakura bit down hard on his hand.   
  
Not this time, Sakura thought. I won't let him kill another girl this time.  
  
The jounin removed his hand, cursing as he did. "HOKAGE!" Sakura screamed again and there was movement at the window.  
  
Tsunade came out onto the balcony, Shizune at her side. Looking down, she found the source of commotion.  
  
"Sakura?" she asked, watching as two jounin tried to wrestle the girl to the ground.  
  
"It's not Kin!" Sakura yelled, trying to struggle free. "Kin's dead! The skull… the body from Takamizu is Kin! You're after the wrong person!!" 


	6. Tunnel

**Chapter 6**

Three steps at time, no pause. Sakura ran towards the Hokage's office, trying to keep her heart from bursting out of her chest. Tsunade was halfway out of her office when Sakura arrived. The two looked at each other for barely a moment before Tsunade spoke.

"Explain" was all she said as she took a seat.

Sakura nodded and pulled out the medical report, letting it unroll on top of her desk. "Here," she pointed. "The part that gives the age for the skull and then, here, where it says that the jaw was broken. When Ibiki-sensei and I met with Kanaye today, he told us that Kin's jaw was injured in a fight just before he left the village."

Tsunade frowned. "The age is right. And if what Kanaye said was true, then we would have no record of the injury. The location may be coincidence but still…" Tsunade put a hand to her head as she sank down in her seat. True, the information was important, but could she risk eliminating a suspect at this point? Could she risk forcing the jounin to look for three suspects when there were clearly only two?

"Spread the word," Tsunade said suddenly. "Tell them to eliminate Kin from the list. We'll concentrate on the other two."

Sakura was a bit confused but sudden movement from the shadow revealed a concealed hunter nin. She hadn't even felt his presence. He quickly disappeared in a plume of smoke before Sakura could even utter a word.

"Two suspects are easier to track then three," Tsunade started. "The information you provided today is going to be really helpful."

Sakura blinked in surprise at the Hokage's words of praise. It was an honor to hear them but something still didn't sit well with Sakura. The Hokage must have seen the look of doubt across her face and stared at her questioningly.

"That's not what you wanted to hear?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura shook her head vigorously. "No, your words are very kind and I am happy that I got to serve Konoha well but…" She frowned. "Something still isn't right."

"I suspect you won't feel 'right' until we've caught the killer," Tsunade replied.

"No, it's just that… Kin was so perfect for the killer. Too perfect. I don't know how else to put it. Everything seemed to fit into place with Nozomi and Kin. But now that's he's out of the picture… I just don't see how it could be anyone else."

"The other two suspects are wanted murderers in several countries."

"But," Sakura said. "The blonde girls… they all were exactly like Nozomi. The fact that this started in the same town she was murdered in. Everything just…" Sakura frowned. "Their sensei, is he alive? Could he have…"

"Funimo-sensei was killed in a mission three years ago," Tsunade said.

Sakura clenched her fists together. "There has to be something else, something we're missing." She looked up at the Hokage. "I need to go talk to Kanaye again."

Tsunade frowned in response. "There's a curfew in place to prevent…"

"I know but," Sakura interrupted, her anxiety getting the better of her manners. "Please, I just need to get to the Interrogation chambers and I know the way from there."

"I really have no jounin to spare," Tsunade replied.

"I'll take her." The two spun around and saw Shizune standing at the door. "I'll be gone only a minute."

Tsunade looked between Sakura and Shizune before nodding quickly.

* * *

Sakura tried to thank Shizune but the other woman disappeared as soon as Sakura stepped inside the chilled dungeon. She moved down the stairs quickly, retracing her steps from earlier this day all the while going over the information in her head. 

Hopefully Hokage was right and the hunter nin would track down the real killer in no time. Some part of her wondered if this last pursuit was just pure selfishness. The mystery had become so important to her, was she just disappointed in finding an unsatisfactory conclusion? Was she desperately trying to keep up the one thing she had been truly good at?

Sakura shook her head free of doubts and concentrated on the facts. She needed to be ready when she saw Kanaye. What else could she ask him? More to the point, would he even be coherent enough to actually answer questions.

Sakura felt truly sorry for him. It was obvious how much he loved his teammate. He sounded devastated when he spoke about when she died. Now she was going to have to tell him that the final member of his cell was dead too.

_Kin and I should have hated each other but with her, it just seemed right._

For a moment, Sakura's feet tripped a bit as she remembered that part of Kanaye's story. Well, maybe he wouldn't miss Kin as much as she thought but she still must have felt some kinship with him.

_Nozomi was the bridge between us, the one thing we agreed on._

Or maybe not. Sakura's pace slowed a bit. Kanaye had made it clear that the only thing that he and Kin had in common was a love for Nozomi. When she was gone, had things gone bad for the two of them?

Sakura came to a stop and frowned. She was stretching here. Kanaye was locked away in a sanatorium, clearly beyond any feeling he may have had for Kin. Besides, she was pretty sure that the ninja guarded the facility were at least chuunin. More importantly, Yasumi Dokoro was completely enclosed by a stone wall. The only way in she had seen was the underground passage she took from here. And no one just walked around the Interrogation Chambers.

Sakura ran up the last staircase and came into view of Yasumi Dokoro. She barely had a chance to move when two jounin guards descended on her.

"There is a…" one of them started.

"Curfew in effect. I know. But I need to see a patient."

"No one is allowed in the facility until…"

"Haruno-san?"

The jounin guards turned around, watching the nurse move towards them. Sakura recognized her instantly as the same one who had led her and Ibiki-sensei around this morning.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Sakura quickly used the chance to walk past the jounin guards and towards the building. "I need to speak to Kanaye as soon as possible."

The nurse looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry but after this morning, Kanaye has said nothing. The doctor's are afraid that he's completely regressed to his catatonic state."

"Please, I just need to see him."

The nurse looked at her and the jounin guards before nodding. Sakura followed her inside, feeling one of jounin a few steps behind her. The three of them walked into the darkened halls and towards the wing were Kanaye was kept.

"He's probably asleep now. We gave him some sedatives earlier to make sure he got some rest."

The nurse came to a stop in front of Kanaye's door and looked inside the window. "He's asleep. I don't think we can wake him, the sedatives are…"

Sakura didn't hear the rest of what the nurse said. She was too concentrated on the room. There was Kanaye, sleeping soundly on his bed. Nothing seemed too odd about that. But there was something on the floor that was attracting her attention.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the spot on the floor, near his bed.

The nurse looked at her oddly and looked inside. "It looks like dust, maybe a bit of dirt."

"Where did it come from?" Sakura demanded.

"What?" the nurse asked, a little annoyed at the question.

"You made us take off our shoes today," Sakura stated. "The slippers were clean. All the people here are wearing clean slippers. How did dirt get on the floor?"

The nurse looked perplexed by it all but the jounin was looking the window intently. He moved to open the door but somehow, Sakura already knew what he would find.

_I was good at genjutsu and it used to amuse her to watch all the illusions I could make._

"A genjutsu," she whispered as he walked inside and quickly retreated feeling the unusual chakra remnants. He quickly brought his hands to _Tiger _and dispelled the illusion. Suddenly the bed was empty.

Sakura followed him inside and quickly moved towards the bed. "Please help me move it," Sakura told the jounin. He nodded, no longer questioning her logic. The bed scrapped across the floor as they moved it to the side. Before they could see what it was hiding, the nurse let out a startled cry.

Sakura looked over and nodded in satisfaction. There was a large hole under the bed, the wooden beams cut away and the dirt underneath broken and leading to darkness. The jounin let out a curse and quickly performed another jutsu, lighting up the area in the hole.

"The evacuation tunnel," he said when the light reflected on ground no more then twenty feet down. "It'll lead right to the others in the mountain."

"It's not possible," the nurse stated. "How could this have happened? Why didn't you detect this illusion?" she demanded.

The jounin guard frowned. "We don't do bed checks. That's your job."

"We need to get in touch with the Hokage," Sakura said, eyeing the hole. "She needs to know."

The jounin nodded and his footsteps quickly disappeared down the hall. The nurse left too, off to alert the others about the escape. Sakura walked around the room, looking for anything else that might be important.

Having done a general look over, she quickly started taking the room apart. The desk was emptied in a matter of minutes, the dresser soon followed. She was about to attack the closet when she noticed the floor creaked loudly as she entered it. With a frown she knelt down and tapped on it, frowning as she heard the echo.

Sakura pulled out a kunai and slammed it into the floor with all her strength, quickly splintering the wood after a few strikes. She pulled the debris aside and looked into the hiding space. There was a kitchen knife in there and more then likely used to break the wood as she had just done.

There was a medium size spade, probably snagged from some hapless groundskeeper. If the jounin was correct, then Kanaye wouldn't have had to dig that much to reach the tunnel below them.

There were so many questions now, more the Sakura could have imagined her trip here would create. But suddenly they all disappeared as she pulled a scroll from the cache. She slowly unrolled it, finding a map of the surrounding area, Konoha dead in the center. She continued to open it, fearing that she already knew what she would find there.

She bit her lip when she found that she was right. The list of towns. The dates. The names written next to them. Yamada Fumiko from Mizuno. Juri Namaya from Funari. Aya Midori from Bokuma.

Sakura stopped reading when she reached the last name. It should have been obvious. It was such a clear choice for a victim. Her subconscious had been telling her from the beginning through nightmares.

Yamanaka Ino from Konoha.

Sakura dropped the scroll and ran to the door. She needed to find the jounin and tell him. She needed to get all of them, every single last jounin at Ino's door to catch him before he attacked.

But there was no one there, no nurse, no jounin. Only her alone in a hallway, across from a supply closet, with a growing fear in her chest. She had to do something. Anything before her heart exploded.

"HEY!" she screamed. "ANYONE! I NEED HELP! PLEASE!!!"

But the only response was the unhappy sounds of the asylum members being woken up. The screaming started a moment later, an unnerving wailing that only comes from the mad.

Sakura screamed a curse. They would never hear her now. And she couldn't waste time searching for the jounin guards. There was only one option left to her. She ran across and threw open the supply closet, grabbing scrolls, brushes and ink. She quickly scribbled a message as best she could, trying to ignore how hard her hand was shaking.

She almost ran out the door when her eyes caught something. It took her only a moment, but suddenly she had a plan. Grabbing that last thing, she ran out of the closet, still seeing no jounin in the hallway. There was no choice now. She knew what she had to do.

She threw the message on the bed and grabbed the top sheet as she jumped down the hole into darkness.

* * *

"Hokage-sama?" 

Tsunade looked up from her desk, removing the headset she was wearing. The sound of jounin reporting in quietly filled the background.

"Shizune," Tsunade said. "I told you not to call me that."

Shizune smiled slightly as she put the tray of tea on the desk. Tsunade frowned slightly, noting the obvious lack of sake but at times like this, tea would do just as well.

"Is there anything?" Shizune asked as she poured.

Tsunade shook her head. "Nothing. The streets are empty, save for a few lawbreakers but they're rounded up in a matter of minutes. I just don't know what more to do."

Shizune frowned, nodding her agreement. She sipped on her tea and thought about what she might say to make Tsunade feel better. But until the killer was caught she doubted any of them would feel at ease.

There was an increase of activity over the headset and Tsunade quickly put the tea cup down as she replaced the headset.

"Repeat that," she ordered.

_Hokage-sama. This is Mitsuko, one of the guards from Yasumi Dokoro. We had a young girl get into the facility._

"Haruno Sakura," Tsunade said. "I sent her, so please allow her…"

_She's already been inside. We went to a patient's room… shit, his name was…_

"Kanaye," Tsunade replied, not noticing the grip on her cup was tightening.

_Yes, that's it. He's gone. There was a genjutsu in place to hide his disappearance and a hole to the civilian evacuation tunnel in his room._

The cup in Tsunade's hand suddenly shattered. Shizune jumped in surprise at the motion but said nothing when she saw the look on Tsunade's face. Without another word, she quickly retrieved her own headset.

_I don't know the significance but Haruno-san said to call right away._

"Where is she?" Tsunade demanded.

_In Kanaye's room…_ A sudden noise wiped out his voice and the connection cut out.

"Mitsuko!" Tsunade yelled, trying to get his attention again. "Report!"

_Something wrong inside. The inmates are out of control._

Tsunade could barely hear him under the wail in the background. "Mitsuko, get Haruno out of there."

_They're breaking out of their rooms._

"This is the Hokage-sama. Teams Alpha and Bravo head to Yasumi Dokoro and control the situation. Team Charlie, go to the civilian evacuation exit immediately."

_Alpha leader, roger_

_Bravo leader, roger_

_Charlie leader, roger_

"Mitsuko, can you get to Kanaye's room?" But there was no response. "Mitsuko!" Tsunade stood up and started to pace. It would take the two jounin teams almost ten minutes to get there by traversing the Interrogation chambers.

In the background, Shizune was attempting to reroute the rest of the teams to cover the gaps. Tsunade could hear them, complying quickly and reporting in as they succeeded but there was still nothing from Alpha or Beta.

_This is Charlie team. We are the evacuation tunnels._

Tsunade came to a halt. "Secure the area. Look for any signs of young man, around twenty years of age. Long brown hair."

_Charlie leader, roger_.

_Hitsu! There's something here!_

Tsunade felt her heart stop. One of the gamma team members had already found something. Please, she thought, please let it be over.

_This is Charlie leader. We have a white haired man moving north._

_Hitsu! Over here too!_

_What?_

_Shit! They're everywhere._

_Dispel! Everyone dispel!_

Tsunade gripped the edge of her table as she heard the echo of the gamma team dispelling the illusions.

_Is there anyone left?_

_This is Charlie leader. We've lost the target. They were all illusions._

_This is Delta leader, we're tracking several people moving through the north eastern section of town._

_This is Whiskey team. We've got at least three people moving in our area as well._

Tsunade slowly paled as she heard each team report in, each stating that they were tracking people, each differing in appearance but disappearing after they were dispelled.

_Alpha team reporting. We've reached Yasumi Dokoro._

"Find Mitsuko now!" Tsunade ordered.

_He's down. We've got several jounin and civilians injured._

"Medical nin teams five through seven, report to Yasumi Dokoro," Shizune ordered, listening as conformations came in.

"Search the area. You need to find a young genin, pink hair. Her name is…"

_I know who to look for, Hokage-sama._

Tsunade paused for a moment, finally placing the voice of the Alpha team leader.

"Kakashi, get in there and get her out."

_Already halfway there_.

Shizune looked up at Tsunade, watching as the worry etched into her face. It was obvious Tsunade was concentrated on only one thing at the moment, despite the fact that almost all the jounin teams were scrambling after illusionary ghosts. There was only one way to end this quickly.

Without asking Tsunade, Shizune put in the request. "This is the Hokage's office, requesting all Hyuuga family members report here immediately." She heard the affirmatives from several people and noted the Tsunade had nodded in approval.

Scarcely a minute later, a tall imposing figure walked into the room, white eyes locking in on the Hokage as he bowed.

"Hyuuga-san, thank you for coming here so quickly."

"I understand what you need, Hokage. Please allow us to help," Hiashi said firmly.

Tsunade nodded and quickly walked towards the stairs, heading up to the roof of the building, several Hyuuga members in tow. As soon as they reached the top, they quickly arranged themselves in a circle.

"Byakugan!"

The white eyed shinobis' eyes shifted, veins popping out of the sides of their head. Hiashi concentrated, seeing every detail of the area in front of him and around him. He could see the buildings, the faint glow of chakra of jounin as they moved through the town, chasing after the illusions. And those illusions, he noted, while well crafted were simply a small output of chakra, a unique pattern that distinguished them from the real men.

"Nothing," he said, stepping back and allowing his face to slowly return to normal. Around him, each member reported the same. There was no real target. The jounin teams were only tracing illusions.

"None?" Hokage asked. "But then… where is…"

_Hokage-sama. I'm in Kanaye's room._

"Sakura?"

_She's gone. There's a note here and a map._

"What does the note say?"

_Kanaye is responsible. His list of victims is on the map scroll. I tried to tell the jounin but everything went crazy. I know I can't stop him so I'll try to delay him. Please hurry._

Tsunade didn't reply. If she had, her rage would have probably toppled the entire building below them.

"Kakashi," she started. "The name on the scroll. The one for Konoha."

Tsunade could hear the hesitation in his voice as he looked at it.

_Yamanaka Ino._

* * *

"WHAT?" Inoshi screamed into his headset. He came to a stop, letting the illusion in front of him run off. Without waiting for the Hokage's order he was off, barely noticing that Shikato and Chomaru had quickly fallen behind him. 

In any other time, he would have been grateful. But there was only one thought on his mind as the street of Konoha flew underneath him. If anything happened to his precious baby girl…

The door didn't survive the impact as Inoshi slammed it open. On the couch, his wife jumped up, grabbing a nearby kunai to defend herself before recognizing the men who came barreling through.

"Anata?" she cried, watching as they ran up the stairs.

"Ino!" Inoshi yelled opening the door.

The window was open, a gentle breeze played with the pink curtains. His eyes landed on the bed that was empty.

"INO!" he screamed, while Chomaru tried to hold him back from jumping out the window.

Shikato however, had noticed something else. Quickly, he moved to the closet and threw open the door.

"Inoshi," he said, getting the other man's attention. He turned around, following his friend's gaze.

There in the closet lay his daughter. Her face peacefully asleep though the growing bruise on her head made it obvious she was not asleep by her own choice. Next to her feet was a bed sheet that was clearly not her own and an empty bottle of peroxide.


	7. Memory

**Chapter 7**

The pace of her movements was stealing her breath and making her dizzy. But she fought the urge and continued to run. Sakura ran faster then she ever had before, taking every short cut, jumping fences and never pausing to check if she was being followed. She had a single thought in her mind and it drove her to speeds she could never acquire under normal circumstances.  
  
Then, in the distance, she could make out the familiar shape of Ino's home. She jumped off the ground and ricocheted off the walls of neighboring buildings, reaching Ino's bedroom window without stopping.  
  
The window was still closed and from behind the pink sheer curtains she could see the form of her sleeping friend. Relief flooded her instantly. She had made it before Kanaye.   
  
There was movement at the end of the block and Sakura watched as several jounin took off, chasing what seemed to be a completely random assortment of people that disappeared suddenly.  
  
Illusions, Sakura realized. Kanaye was approaching and she was running out of time. She turned back to the window and looked for a way in. Pulling a kunai from her pocket, she slipped it between the cracks of the window and tossed up the latch.  
  
As she pushed the glass open and the noise startled Ino out of her sleep. The blonde ninja was suddenly fully alert, grabbing a kunai from under the pillow and preparing to defend herself. But she lowered it as soon as she made out the familiar shape in her room.  
  
"Sakura?" Ino said, lowering the kunai. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Ino-chan," Sakura said softly. "We don't have a lot of time so I…"  
  
"What's that smell?" Ino interrupted, crinkling her nose at the noxious odor. Before Sakura could stop her, Ino flipped on bed lamp. The kunai in her hand clattered to the floor.  
  
"Your… hair... " Ino cried, pointing at Sakura.  
  
Sakura ran a hand through it feeling the liquid still clinging to it. When a strand came across her face, she realized that it had worked.  
  
"I always wanted to try being blonde," Sakura shrugged.  
  
"What are you…"  
  
"Ino," Sakura said, trying to hide the trembling in her voice. "I'm sorry we couldn't have lunch before. Maybe after we can try again."  
  
"After?" Ino cried. "After what? What's going on??"  
  
"Gomen Ino," Sakura replied. Before the other girl could react, Sakura swung her arm, connecting perfectly with Ino's temple, crumpling her to the floor. Sakura quickly grabbed her under the shoulders and dragged her to the closet. She deposited the sheet from Kanaye's room and the empty bottle of concentrated peroxide. Hopefully, that was enough for them to understand.   
  
She looked around, trying to find something to cover up the smell of her hair. She grabbed the bottle of water on Ino's desk and quickly rinsed it. Then she took the bottle of Ino's perfume and quickly sprayed it over herself.  
  
The smell no longer as bad, Sakura stripped off her red jacket and deposited it on the floor. She crawled into Ino's bed, pulling the comforter up to cover her face, allowing for only the blonde hair to show.  
  
She closed her eyes and slowly began to count, working to calm her pounded heart. It would be all right. She just had to stall Kanaye and they would find her. They had to find her.  
  
The air suddenly got cold around her and Sakura shifted slightly under the blankets. By the time she realized that the strong breeze meant Kanaye was here, it was too late.

* * *

Inoshi held his daughter, slowly trying to bring her back to consciousness. The young girl's face crinkled slightly and she slowly opened her eyes, big gray ones that locked on her father instantly.  
  
"Papa?"  
  
"Ino," he smiled.  
  
Ino blinked and looked around, suddenly realizing how many people we crammed into her room. But there was one person obviously missing.  
  
"Sakura?" Ino said.  
  
Inoshi's face reacted with surprise. He started to work through all the previous conversations over the radio. Sakura had been the one to warn them that Ino was the target. Sakura had said she would delay the killer. As the pieces came together, suddenly someone else joined the cramped group. Inoshi looked up and locked eyes with the new arrival.  
  
"Haruno," Inoshi said softly, watching the man's frantic eyes search the room.   
  
Inoshi's eyes softened and Haruno suddenly realized the same thing that Inoshi had. Sakura had been here but she was here no longer. The jounin shook his head in disbelief. Shikato leaned down to the ground and retrieved the red garment left there. It fluttered in the breeze, the white circle all too visible.  
  
"Sakura," Haruno whispered. And then he ran to the window, leaning out to bellow the name of his daughter again.

* * *

Across town, Sakura's mother jumped slightly, feeling something prickle against her skin and causing it to goose bump. She glanced around cautiously, looking for an open window but she soon realized something deeper then a cool breeze has caused her reaction.  
  
Mother's intuition, she thought as she stood up and carefully walked towards her daughter's room. She hadn't heard a peep from Sakura since she was brought home but she had just assumed Sakura had fallen asleep.  
  
Standing in front of the bedroom door, the feeling of discomfort suddenly increased and she found she could barely raise her hand to open it. In swift motion, she flung the door open.  
  
The room was empty as she walked inside, looking for any trace of Sakura. The window was open and she realized that Sakura had not been asleep at all. Sitting down on her bed, she picked up a stuffed animal and clutched it to her chest.  
  
"Haruno-san."  
  
She didn't look up. She knew that it was a jounin messenger. She knew what he had come to tell her. So instead of answering, she clutched the animal to her chest and started to cry.

* * *

"Explain to me how it happened," Tsunade yelled. "Explain to me how we missed him again."  
  
The jounins there shuffled their feet. What could they say? Chasing all those illusions had confused them? They hadn't been able to find the real one among the fakes? Nothing they said would matter.  
  
"Find her," Tsunade yelled. "If you have to tear this town apart, find her!"  
  
The jounins took that as a dismissal and quickly disappeared. Shizune frowned as she watched Tsunade almost crack her desk in half.  
  
"Hoka… Tsunade," Shizune said. "Please, just…"  
  
"Bring her teammates here," Tsunade interrupted. "If they find out, I have no doubt in my mind they'll try something as stupid as she did. The entire team is made of completely irrational and irresponsible and…"  
  
"Tsunade," Shizune said, stepping forward and grabbing her mentor by the shoulder.  
  
Tsunade sank in her seat, tears already forming on her eyes. "I should have realized it. But I never stopped to think that she was too young for this. She was a ninja, she was useful but she was never someone's child. She was just…" Tsunade's knuckles cracked. "I never thought that she would…"  
  
"And neither did Sandaime when he sent Nozomi on her mission," Shizune said. "But that's what a Hokage has to do. She makes the choices other would not. She protects the village first and then she protects the ninja within." Shizune took in a deep breath. "It's not too late to do that second part, Hokage."  
  
Tsunade blinked the tears away and slowly nodded. "You're right. We still have time." She paused. "The Inuzuka clan. They have the best noses in this village. They might be able to track her down." Tsunade stood up. "And get Kakashi here. His summoned dogs should be able to help as well."  
  
"I'll send the message," Shizune replied. "And I'll send someone to get her parents and team mates as well."  
  
Tsunade nodded in agreement. She looked at the two items that had been retrieved from Ino's room. "I need to talk to Ibiki."

* * *

Naruto was not happy. It was bad enough they had inflicted this horrible curfew on him but now to drag him out of bed without a reason was too much! What the hell could the old hag want this late at night? The whole place was insane with activity as he was ushered through. Naruto barely recognized anyone until he caught sight of a familiar red and white pattern.   
  
"Oi, Sasuke," Naruto called out.  
  
The other boy turned, his face impassive as he watched his teammate come up to him. "You're here too."  
  
Naruto nodded. "Think Hokage has a mission for us or something?"  
  
Sasuke paused and looked around. Slowly he shook his head. "No, there's something else."  
  
"Yo! Naruto, Sasuke!" The two boys turned and watched as Kiba bounded up them, Akamaru running at his feet.   
  
"Kiba," Naruto said looking at him. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm here to help search. All the Inuzuka clan is," he said.   
  
Before they could ask, a tall woman who bore the same markings as him called out his name.   
  
"Yeah, coming!" he yelled back. He turned back to them. "Anyway, just wanted to tell you have nothing to worry about. We'll find her."  
  
"Her?" Naruto asked. But Kiba was gone. "What do they mean, her, Sasuke?"  
  
Sasuke didn't reply. Instead he was watching the Inuzuka clan with their dogs huddling around a crumpled item.   
"Sasuke," Naruto said, his attention suddenly elsewhere. Sasuke followed his gaze and saw the source of Naruto's attention. Two older people were huddled in a corner, each with very familiar traits.  
  
The dogs were whining in the background. The red dress they had been brought was tainted with something and it was hurting their noses. Naruto's eye widened at the sight of the familiar piece of clothing.  
  
He went to ask Sasuke for confirmation but the other boy was gone, already heading towards the door. Naruto didn't have to ask what was going on. Obviously Sasuke had realized the same thing and come to the same conclusion. They weren't going to let the Inuzuka clan be the only one's searching.  
  
But something barred their way. Even with angry glares Sasuke was throwing, he refused to move.  
  
"You should stay here," Kakashi stated firmly.  
  
"Just like we should stay at home, right?" Sasuke replied bitterly.  
  
"There is no questioning this," Kakashi replied. "This is an order."  
  
Sasuke's eyes flared crimson. Even Naruto tensed up. "She's our teammate," Sasuke said simply.   
  
"Please, just stay." Both young boys paused at the feminine voice. The room had fallen silent.   
  
"I know that you want to go," Sakura's mother said softly. "But, I know that she would want you to stay. She was always so sad when you got hurt trying to help her. So please, just stay."  
  
Naruto looked confused while Sasuke looked torn. Kakashi knew they were wavering. Naruto would not understand why he suddenly wanted to listen to what Sakura's mother said but Sasuke would remember what a mother's words could do. In the end, no matter how much they wanted to help, Kakashi knew that he couldn't allow them.  
  
"You'd be too distracted," Kakashi finished, ending the argument just once and for all. "And the Haruno's could use the support."   
  
Sasuke's hands slowly relaxed, allowing Sakura's mother to pull him away from the door. Naruto walked slowly behind him, a bit unsure of what to do. Sakura's mother nodded slowly in thanks, while her father put a strong hand on his shoulder.   
  
"We can't track her," the Inuzuka clan head said. "There's a chemical on it that's masking the smell."  
  
"It's peroxide," Ibiki said walking in, Tsunade closely behind him. "It will make it difficult to find her. So instead, she left us this." He brought up the bed sheet. "They should get a scent off this."  
  
As the Inuzuka clan huddled around the new item, Kakashi quickly walked outside. His hands moved in an intricate pattern before slamming into the ground. A moment later, the ground rumbled in response and his summoned companions emerged from the dirt.  
  
He motioned them inside and they followed obediently. Noticing the other dogs and what they were doing, they quickly ran up to the bed sheet.  
  
"Ugh, it smells of death," one of them complained.   
  
"I know it smells bad," Kakashi said, patting it on the head. "But you think that you can find the source."  
  
"Of course," the pug replied.   
  
"Do you want him alive?" one of them asked.  
  
Kakashi hesitated. "There's a girl with him."  
  
"Your girl," the pug interrupted. "The pink haired one." Kakashi nodded and his companions understood what he meant.  
  
"Let's head out," Inuzuka called out. And suddenly the room was empty again.

* * *

Sakura's eyes cracked open a bit as she tried to make out where she was. She moved a hand to wipe away the blurriness of her eyes but it refused to budge. She looked down and saw her hands were held in place behind her back with a rope. She slowly began to work at it, trying to ignore the unfamiliar white sleeve that was around her arm.  
  
"Awake I see."  
  
Sakura ignored the voice. She knew who it was.  
  
"Come on," Kanaye said. "Open your eyes."  
  
Sakura's heart jumped. She had managed to cover up her hair color by bleaching it. But as soon as Kanaye got a look at her eyes, her cover would be blown. Not gray eyes, but green ones would stare at him.  
  
"Stubborn eh?" he said. Sakura felt a weight on her stomach as he sat on her. Cold hands pressed against her cheek and she felt her eyes being forced open.  
  
There was a moment of silence as Sakura's eyes locked on Kanaye. Then he screamed out in rage.  
  
"You're not her!" he screamed. "Who are you? Why did you..." He paused and looked at her closely. "You're the girl from this morning."  
  
Sakura looked at him and nodded. Stall him, Sakura. Stall him as long as you can. "Yeah, that's me. When you told your story," she continued slowly, "I realized something. We had found a body in Takamizu."  
  
"Kin," Kanaye said, a smirk on his face. "After all these years someone finally found him."  
  
Sakura nodded. "The explosion note was well done."  
  
Kanaye waved a hand in thanks. "I was always the smart one. Kin was the idiot." His face darkened. "He didn't see things they way I did."  
  
"But he was your teammate," Sakura said, slowly trying to prompt him.  
  
Kanaye snorted. "He was a coward. I knew what we had to do. I told him we had to get even somehow. To make sure they never forgot what they did."  
  
Sakura watched him. "But he didn't want to do that," she said. "So you killed him."  
  
Kanaye frowned. "It was self defense. He was going to tell them about my plan."  
  
"Your plan?" Sakura asked.  
  
"To make them remember," he whispered, his eyes suddenly misting over. "To never forget her. To remind them of what they did to us."  
  
"What did they do to you?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
His face changed as he looked at her. "What did they do? WHAT DID THEY DO?" He screamed making Sakura flinch. "They destroyed us, took away the one thing we loved. They took our only reason for living!"  
  
He looked at her, malice bubbling over. "So I took them, each like her, and showed them what they did." He laughed a bit. "And they never knew. They kept looking for Kin."  
  
He placed his hands on Sakura's throat. "But now they know, don't they. They figured it out and thought they could stop me by sending you." His hand tightened and Sakura lost all ability to breath. "But it won't matter. I'll just kill you and find another. And after that I'll keep going. So they never forget."  
  
Sakura's eyes began to water as her air supply ran out. With a last bit of effort, she pulled up her arm, feeling the rope burn against her as it came free. She hit him hard, sending him off her body and onto to floor.  
  
Gasping for breath, Sakura struggled to free the rest of her bonds. But he was back before she could, one hand tucked in the cylindrical weapon. It moved towards her but Sakura shifted at the last moment, forcing it to hit the ground instead. Kanaye followed downward and Sakura lashed out, nailing him with her elbow.  
  
The blow stunned him and he backed off, letting the weapon clatter the ground as he stumbled backwards. Sakura picked it up and slipped it on, remembering the demonstration the Hokage had given her. The needles shot out and Sakura slipped a few of them around the rope on her leg before pulling the other string.  
  
Kanaye regained his balance and charged, but Sakura jumped out of the way, quickly spinning around to face him. He was faster and his fist connected, forcing her vision to suddenly go black as she hit the wall. She fought against losing consciousness, watching as his blurry figure approached her, the weapon clattering to the floor.  
  
"That's all you have?" he demanded. "That's all a great ninja of Konoha has to offer." He laughed. "She was better then you'll ever be."  
  
Sakura barely registered his hand movements but quickly caught the sequence. Ox, tiger, boar, snake. She repeated them to herself as she tried to hear his words. Times like this she would have killed for a Sharigian.   
  
"Keika no jutsu."  
  
Several forms suddenly appeared in front of her, little spots of light that grew into full sized people. Sakura looked around, trying to pinpoint Kanaye's location. But the throngs of people made it hard. They moved around her, passing through things like ghosts.   
  
"Behind you."  
  
Sakura turned and blocked the attack, causing Kanaye to jump backwards and disappear into the background of people. She tried to find him again but it was to no avail.  
  
A genjutsu, she realized, should be able to be dispelled right? She clapped her hands together in tiger.  
  
"Dispel," she called.  
  
The forms flickered but remained intact. She could hear Kanaye laughing at her. Knowing the mechanics of a technique and knowing how to use them are two entirely different things. Come on Sakura, think this through.   
  
Sakura flipped backwards avoided the wave of kunai that landed at her feet.  
  
"Weak," Kanaye's voice filtered.   
  
Inner Sakura's voice screamed out in protest. And on the outside, Sakura was already putting her hands together in tiger. Remembering the first time she had used it in the coliseum to wake up Naruto, Sakura concentrated on the illusions. Kanaye had called them Keika, firefly light. So if Sakura wanted to dispel them, she needed to the opposite.  
  
Sakura's mind went blank, her essence filled with darkness and she softly whispered the jutsu. The forms around her shuddered and disappeared, leaving only one form remaining.  
Kanaye reacted quickly as Sakura lashed back. Weaponless she could only rely on her taijutsu techniques and it was her weak skill. She blocked effectively and her blows were solid but she lacked strength and speed. Even if Kanaye had been locked up in an asylum for several years, she was clearly outmatched.  
  
She needed to do something else. The Keika no Jutsu came to mind but she still didn't understand it enough to know how to use it effectively. Instead, she watched helplessly as Kanaye repeated the technique and flooded the room again.  
  
She knelt down trying to disappear in the crowd. He obviously wouldn't have done the technique again, knowing she could dispel it now, without having a plan. But what was he after?  
  
She scanned the area, looking at the people floating around when it finally hit her. She recognized a few of them. There was the nurse from Yasumi Dokoro. That was the town leader they had met in Mizuno. He was using actual people as a base of the images.  
  
Which meant that's how this jutsu worked. You expelled small amounts of charka and then concentrated on images to make them into a specific person. Now that she knew how the technique worked, Sakura was confident that she could use it herself.  
  
What good would it do just creating more people? She needed to use this somehow to stop his attacks. Sakura tried to concentrate but she heard something metallic in the background and suddenly Kanaye's plan was apparent.  
  
"DISPEL!" she screamed, clearing the illusions just in time to see Kanaye charging her with the weapon. She swerved, feeling the needles graze her arm. Pain shot through her arm and she realized he had closed the device, removing a slim portion of her skin.  
  
There was too little contact with her to stop his momentum and Kanaye stumbled as his motion carried him past her. Sakura kicked hard, landing as solid blow on his back. It wasn't strong enough to do any damage but it kept him moving away from her, giving her time to react.  
  
Her hands moved fluidly, repeating the sequence that she had watched him perform. Ox, tiger, boar, snake. She completed them and then spoke the words.  
  
"Keika no jutsu," she whispered, feeling the chakra leave her and form tiny blobs of light around her. She held her hands in snake and slowly concentrated, finally realizing the one thing that might phase him.  
  
The lights flickered and grew, slowly taking the form of several adult sized ninja, wearing long black cloaks and each wearing an animal mask.  
  
"Anbu," Kanaye scowled. "You bastards."  
  
Sakura watched as he attacked them, realizing he hadn't seen her perform the jutsu. He thought they were real.  
  
Suddenly, a howl filled the air. Sakura heart skipped a beat as she started looking around for the source. It was echoed several times and before she could react the ceiling above them exploded into a rain of wooden splinters.  
  
The dogs hit the ground first, wasting no time in heading right towards him. Their owners followed quickly, seeing Sakura and quickly moving towards her. Kanaye fought back but they were obviously stronger then him.   
  
His blood was flowing freely now. He was light headed, his vision was clouded. There were Anbu around him and animals ripping at his skin. And then suddenly he saw her.  
  
"Nozomi," he said, pushing one of his attackers. They were taking her away again. "NOZOMI!" he screamed, watching as they carried her away, the white funeral robe already around her.  
  
Last time, he had let them without stopping them. But now, he was going to fight them with everything he had. He screamed out in rage and attacked, no longer caring that he was half dead already. The only though in his mind was Nozomi.  
  
Sakura watched him, heard him call out for Nozomi as he pointed towards her. Then she watched as he was lost beneath the attack of dogs. And then everything went black.

* * *

Sakura smiled as she opened her eyes. She could hear the sounds of the machines and knew where she was. There was some pain in her arms and neck. But she was alive.   
  
The smile started to slip as she remembered the last moments of consciousness. Kanaye. Had he survived the fight? The way he screamed, the way he was fighting, Sakura wasn't sure he wanted to.  
  
"You don't look good blonde."  
  
Sakura's smile returned a bit as she turned around. "I think there should be only one blonde in the group, Naruto."  
  
The fox boy frowned as he crossed her arms and nodded. "Sakura-chan doesn't look like Sakura-chan like this."  
  
Sakura smiled. "I'm a mess aren't I?"  
  
Naruto's nose scrunched up, like he was torn between two differing opinions. Finally he just settled on his frown. "The whole thing is a mess."   
  
"What happened?" Sakura asked softly.  
  
Naruto tapped his feet as he tried to straighten things out in his mind. "They tried to capture the guy but he kind of went insane and they had to…" Naruto trailed off.   
  
Sakura turned away and looked out the window. She didn't know why but for whatever reason, she felt like she wanted to cry. Cry over someone that had tried to kill her.   
  
Naruto sensed the impending deluge of tears and quickly changed the subject. "Ino's been bringing you flowers, new ones, three times a day since you got here."  
  
Sakura blinked and looked at the elaborate arrangement that was at her side. She picked out a few flowers, most of them meant to symbolize health. But if she wasn't mistaken, a few there were for friendship and thanks.  
  
"Eh… Sasuke came by once or twice," Naruto added, knowing that she would want to hear that.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. And then he took out half a public park, trying to strengthen his Chidori. You know Sasuke, the more belligerent is, the more worried he is."  
  
Sakura giggled a bit. "I guess so."  
  
"Kakashi-sensei's been on special training missions for the past couple of days," Naruto said. "Shizune's been filling in for him. She's not as good as Kakashi-sensei but she taught us some medical stuff."  
  
"Really, I can't wait to…"  
  
Naruto turned around after Sakura stopped talking. In the doorway was the unmistakable mass of scars known as torture master Ibiki. Naruto shot a look at Sakura and quickly scurried away.  
  
Ibiki walked in and stared at her for a few moments. Sakura twiddled with her blanket as he stared at her.  
  
"The bed sheet and the peroxide," Ibiki said. "Those were smart."  
  
Sakura brightened a bit. "Thank y…"  
  
"The rest," Ibiki interrupted, "was incredibly stupid." Sakura faltered. "Attempting to overtake a known murderer. Using yourself as bait. Walking into a dangerous situation unarmed."  
  
"But Ibiki-sensei…"  
  
"Quiet!" he yelled. Sakura sank down into the bed. She could feel the tears about to flow but she bit them back. If he was going to dump her as a student then she wouldn't cry. She still managed to save Ino and if that's all she could walk away with, that's fine.  
  
"This is why genin are restricted to low level missions. Not a drop of common sense in any of them," Ibiki sighed. "At least now I understand why you're assigned to jounin teachers. Maybe we stand a chance of beating some sense into you."  
  
Sakura blinked. "We?"  
  
"Starting tomorrow," Ibiki said. "Every morning at 5:30am you will be at my office. You will train with me in the morning and then train with Kakashi in the afternoon."  
  
Sakura smiled. "Hai sensei."  
  
"Don't smile at me," Ibiki frowned. "If you think I'm upset, wait until you see Kakashi." Sakura's smile faltered a bit. She didn't want to even imagine what that would be like. "So rest up. Tsunade says you'll be out of here by the evening."  
  
"Hai sensei!"  
  
Ibiki frowned and walked out of the door. Damn girl was way too perky for his line of work. He paused, looking at Tsunade coming down the hall and nodded. Tsunade smiled, something in the way she did almost singing out an 'I told you so'.  
  
He muttered something in response and walked outside, taking in a breath of a fresh air. He knew he'd have to get back to his office soon and start to plan for the torture, er training, of his new student. He hated to admit it but it was somewhat exciting. After hearing reports from the rescue squad, he knew Sakura was already learning. She had stalled Kanaye in the end by summoning the one thing he feared the most.  
  
As he crossed the street, he had to sidestep another bundle of energy. "Watch where you're going!" he yelled.  
  
"Sorry Ibiki-sensei!" Ino called, clutching the flowers to her chest as she raced by him. She ran up the stairs and headed straight for the room. If Naruto had been lying, she'd kill him herself.  
  
Ino almost collided with Tsunade as the other woman left. She bowed politely and waited for her to leave. As soon as it was clear, Ino peeked inside the room and saw Sakura sitting up in the bed. She walked in and watched as her best friend looked at her.  
  
"Ino."  
  
"You look like crap," Ino stated. "So don't think I'm going to let you stay with that horrible hair job. You give the rest of us a bad name," she said, flicking her hair a bit.  
  
Sakura sighed, hiding her smile. "I suppose I could let you try to help."  
  
"You will let me help," Ino replied. "And you will take me out to lunch just like you promised."  
  
"I promised?"  
  
"Yes. And it will be to a nice place. And you will pay."  
  
"I'm not your boyfriend!" Sakura cried.  
  
"No, its worse then that," Ino replied. "You're my best friend, "said softening a bit. "My idiotic, unthinking, completely stupid best friend," she said raising her voice but the same time, it was clear she was about to start crying.  
  
"Ino," Sakura said, frowning and trying to not cry herself.  
  
"Please," she said softly. "Don't ever do something like that again. When Papa told me what you did…" She tightened her grip on the flowers. "I don't… want to lose you…"  
  
Sakura leaned forward and hugged her, feeling the flowers crush against her. "I didn't want to lose you either," she said softly. Ino nodded and they stood like that for a minute before Ino stepped back whipping away the tears.  
  
She eyed Sakura wearily and then resumed her normal appearance. "And don't you even think for a moment that this means I'm giving up on Sasuke-kun. You still don't stand a chance, big forehead girl."  
  
"Feh," Sakura said, crossing her arms. "Whatever Ino-pig." But even as the words escaped her mouth she realized she was smiling. Things were slowly falling back to normal and she couldn't have been happier.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_releases huge breath_

Finally! I promised myself when writing this that no author notes would be key since I didn't want to drop any hints or ruin any surprises. But now that this story is over I can say this:

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

It has been amazing reading the reviews. I've read everyone that's come in and smiled at everyone. It took the ones with suggestions and criticisms to heart and modified the story accordingly (except for the typo point outs... those are a bit hard to change one the story is posted).

I'm so happy that people like the Ibiki spin. In fact, I'm already planning out the next story but as you can tell, it take a bit of planning to make a mystery work. Plus, considering the response to this fic, I'm a little nervous to try to repeat the success of it. I just hope I can continue to live up to your expectations and that you can continue to enjoy my work.

That said, thank you again for taking time to read this. Thank you for the wonderful reviews. And I hope to hear from you again soon.


End file.
